Guilty Crown AFT3RM4TH: Last Agent (Phase 24)
by LukeLC
Summary: Following the events of Guilty Crown: Dethroned (my last fanfic), the final remnant of GHQ makes one last effort at creating a new world order, calling to arms the surviving members of Japan's Special Intelligence Division yet again before they can be eliminated in a series of mysterious disappearances.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_Day 04, 2049 A.D._

The sky was pitch black when I set foot out into the night. Off in the distance the city was still aglow with lights of its own, but there weren't any people around the outskirts.

No...I knew better than that.

I pressed forward into the residential district like a wraith come to haunt its prey. Only, in reality it was I that was being haunted. My breaths were heavy and deliberate, and I couldn't tell if my mind was in more control than ever before or teetering on the edge of insanity. It was chilly, but the palm of my one real hand sweated with trepidation.

I entered a shadowy alley and popped open my communication device. In the soft glow of the holographic screen a little red line proceeded a short distance from my location on a map of the area.

"_Almost there..."_

I folded the device with a _click _and returned it to my pocket. The feeling of being watched intensified. I didn't care. Danger meant nothing to me. I even shoved my hands into my pockets to show any onlookers that I wasn't intimidated before moving forward again in the direction indicated by my GPS. Even so, I fidgeted with the communication device where no one could see. Afraid or not, I couldn't help but nervously anticipate whatever was about to happen.

After a few more uneventful minutes of walking I rounded a corner into a dark alley and confirmed that the place was the destination given to me. The red line ended here, and all my instructions with it. There was nobody around that I could see, but that meant little in the dark, in a place isolated from even the city lights beyond. All I could do was wait, so I did...with my back firmly planted on the wall.

_Sigh..._

I had no thoughts. Or rather, the thoughts that came to mind were not ones I had any interest in entertaining. I understood well the implications of my actions, even if not their consequences—that's what I intended to discover, reckless though it might be.

Just as I found a comfortable position to stand in, a sharp glint flashed from a distant rooftop and left a burn on my eyes. I stepped aside to avoid the discomfort, but I had no idea just how much pain I was dodging until a moment later when a quiet blast sounded and right in my former position a hole promptly formed in the wall at my head. A little cloud of brick and mortar debris puffed out in its place.

_"Sniper!"_

I quickly drew my pistol and took cover on the opposite side of the alley, then peeked around the corner with the weapon preceding me. Again the glint flashed—a scope reflecting the city, I realized. This time I ducked back on purpose and sure enough, another blast took a chunk out of the asphalt street a few meters away.

Immediately I took to the rooftops by way of a nearby fire escape and charged towards the scope reflection. It wasn't long before something caught my feet in the dark, but I just let myself tumble into a full somersault and pop back up without losing momentum. I then vaulted over an air conditioning unit and sprung off the rooftop, across a gap, and onto another building. Of course it was foolhardy to be freerunning like this in the middle of the night, but even more deadly now would be to stand still. So long as I kept moving, the sniper couldn't get a bead on me. If I was lucky, he wouldn't even realize I was coming after him until it would be too late.

He definitely figured out I wasn't still in the alley. After leaping over to another building and landing in a safety roll I noticed the glint flashing with steadily greater frequency. The sniper was searching. But that also meant I hadn't been located, yet. My legs carried me faster and faster until I thought I might lose control, but then one more leap and a short climb and my would-be assassin was before me, well within shooting distance. I took aim and fired without hesitation—a bit too hasty, as it turned out. The shot missed and alerted the sniper to my presence. Out of the shadows ahead a woman in a slick black catsuit and facemask popped up and took off running, sniper and all.

"Stop!"

Naturally, she had no intention of obeying, and I didn't wait around expecting her to. The chase was on, advantage: mine. Over the rooftops we ran, the woman dodging back and forth and always changing her course in an attempt to throw me off. It didn't work. Dark of night or not, I had a determination on my side the sniper couldn't begin to match with simple evasion tricks. Still, it wasn't exactly a quick and easy fight. I fired off another round with every opportunity I got, but my opponent was surprisingly nimble and almost always managed to dodge at just the right moment to escape harm—_almost_. Two or three rooftops and a couple fire escapes later, one of my bullets finally grazed the woman's side. By no means was she incapacitated, but the damage was clearly great enough to hurt. She missed her next jump over a wind turbine and crumpled to the ground, then quickly scooted herself around the corner of a service entrance. Never made a sound, though—she must've been trained well to have such self-restraint.

Breathing heavily from exhaustion and adrenaline, I whipped around the corner, pistol at the ready...and met with the barrel of the woman's rifle as she swung it at me like a club. It hit hard—hard enough to knock the pistol from my grip and temporarily transport me into a world of stars. In a daze I clumsily swung my hands around as if moving someone else's body. By the time I regained control the rifle was already halfway on another collision course with my nose. Thinking fast, I reached up and snagged the weapon out of the air and shoved it behind me and out of my opponent's hands, pulling her down onto her face in the process. Displaced her mask, too. I took advantage of her blindness and dropped to my knees, pinning her down where I could cuff her hands behind her back. She wasn't about to give in so easily, though. Suddenly a gut-wrenching pain shot up through my body from below my belt, followed by a second kick to throw me off of her completely. I rolled over and tried to stand up, but my legs were like rubber. The cat was quickly on her feet and coming for me, but I refused to give up. I threw a punch into the her wounded side and then forced my legs into action, shoving not only myself off the floor, but also the woman, who was now bent in half over my shoulder.

"Grrrraaaaahhh!"

Mustering all my strength, I threw the assassin onto the ground. Her head made a dull thunk as it hit the hard surface of the roof, and this time the mask popped off completely. I swung at her exposed face, but my fist paused in midair when it finally registered to my brain who the face belonged to.

"Kuhouin...Arisa!?"

Taking advantage of my surprise, she gritted her teeth to bear the pain in her skull and promptly swept my feet out from under me, then rolled over and pulled at something around her waist while jumping on top to pin me down as I'd done to her only minutes before—only I, of course, couldn't pull her same cheap tactic to escape. The cold, hard ring of a handgun pressed into my hair. I couldn't budge beneath Arisa's lock.

"A-A-Arisa?!"

She reached down and pulled at the gun and a sharp click pierced my eardrum. My whole body started trembling. All I could think about was how steeled and unsympathetic her eyes were.

"_Gomenesai_...Ouma Shu-kun."

_Bang!_

* * *

><p><em>(I<em>magine the intro plays here: vimeo 110475199_)_

_Author's Notes: Yes folks, I'm baaaaack! Hard to believe it's been a year, but oh boy, what a year it has been. While I haven't posted anything new around here up to this point, has played a huge motivating role for me. I never expected my last fic, Guilty Crown: Dethroned, to be as popular as it is. Every read, comment, favorite, and follow truly means a lot to me. I am now endeavoring to become an author and indie videogame programmer full-time, a move largely inspired by how well-received my work was around here last year, so while I may not have the time to write another 50K word fanfic, I hope this sequel of a sequel will be everything those who asked for it want it to be. Consider my last fic to be episodes 1-12 and this one to be episodes 13-22 of a season 2 for Guilty Crown :)_

_Hope you enjoy, and thanks for all your support!_


	2. Phase 24-1

**Phase 24.1**

_Day 00, 2049 A.D._

_Flash!_

Cameras went off all over the room, the sea of people sparkling like the ocean at sunset. It was the tenth anniversary celebration of Japan's official freedom from GHQ, and its seventh under the leadership of its first new president, Shibungi, who was reelected by a landslide three years ago. The event was funded and organized by the Kuhouin Group, and just now Kuhouin Arisa and Shibungi had shaken hands after kicking off the festivities together. The paparazzi couldn't get enough of it.

"Thank you, Shibungi-daitouryou. We are honored by your presence."

"The pleasure is mine."

I took it all in and smiled, recalling all that it took for us to create this day for ourselves—this age where we had the peace and prosperity to put on a celebration just for our peace and prosperity. It still felt like not long ago that I wouldn't have imagined such a thing.

"_Oi_, Shu!" a familiar voice called out from behind. "What're you doing over here all by yourself?"

Souta and Yahiro came to join me, plastic cups of punch in hand.

"Ah, sorry. I guess I got lost taking it all in. But I don't think I could be 'by myself' anywhere in this place!"

"I'll say," Yahiro agreed.

Our conversation was interrupted by Arisa stepping up to a microphone at the front of the crowd to speak.

"If I may have your attention...please."

Despite her request, I knew Arisa long enough to tell that she didn't relish everyone's attention. She was born into it and had learned how to cope, but beneath that composed facade she was genuinely uncomfortable. Being head of the Kuhouin Group for the last decade hadn't changed her much, it seemed.

"Though I need not remind anyone why we are here," the speech began, "it is vital that we publicly recognize it nonetheless—that we celebrate and honor the efforts of those that tore down the shackles of yesterday to rebuild society as we know it today, and likewise that we remember the sacrifices of those who gave their lives for ours, that we might see with our own eyes the world they never had the chance to...but that they believed in."

"_Konbanwa_, Shu, everyone," another familiar voice whispered, approaching at my side. It was Ayase, hobbling up with Tsugumi to get a better view. After her surgery and many months of physical therapy Ayase was walking on her own quite well, though she still bore a noticeable limp. She was determined to rid herself of even that, but realistically it wasn't likely to happen.

"Arisa-san's doing well, isn't she?" Tsugumi commented quietly. Souta for one must've agreed.

"So be quiet and listen!" he said.

"...and so it is with deepest joy and respect that I announce to you today, 10 years of freedom from GHQ. It was—"

Applause.

"It was a decade hard fought and well-earned...by everyone. And so it is times like these that we must join together in mutual support, to give back to the community we have worked so hard to create, that we might maintain our revitalized nation as not independent only, but a model to all other nations around the world. Thank you all for being here tonight, and may our next decade be even more fruitful than the last!"

Another round of applause erupted from the crowd before Arisa's words had even finished echoing through the hall. The clapping lasted a long while—long enough for Yahiro to lean over and speak his mind while the noise would drown out his voice to everyone else.

"Does nobody around here remember that she sided with GHQ for a while, herself?"

"Eh? Look who's talking!" Tsugumi retorted.

"What? I never sided with GHQ, I just...i-it was different, ok?"

I was impressed at how calmly he said it. Unbeknownst to Tsugumi, that subject was considered taboo between Yahiro and me for many years. Perhaps the last decade had healed his hurt more than I thought.

At last the applause died down, Arisa gave a slight bow and left the microphone, music started playing in the background, and everyone returned to their conversations and refreshments.

"You know, we all have things about the past that we have to forgive," said Ayase. "I think that might've been part of what the speech was about. The Kuhouin Group didn't sponsor the party just to reopen old wounds."

To tell the truth, I got the same impression.

"A-ah. Where would any of us be if not for the support of others when we weren't strong enough to go on, ourselves? No matter what happened back then, we're a team now. We shared the same burdens and experiences most people only ever saw from the outside. Like it or not, we're connected. That counts for something, right?"

"You would be glad we're connected, eh, Shu?" Souta gave me a nudge. "You did get Inori out of the deal, after all."

He slung an arm around my shoulder, redirecting my attention to some refreshment tables by the wall, where my wife stood filling a plate with our little Hare clinging impatiently to her side. All of a sudden nobody else existed. Time didn't exist. There was only me and that figure I loved so much—no, the person inside it even more. I could've watched for hours. Eventually Inori seemed to feel my gaze and turned her head to meet my eyes. She smiled. I could never get enough of that face.

A little jolt around my neck brought the eternal moment to an end.

"You sure got hitched out of your league, huh?" Souta teased.

"Ha-a, well..."

"Says the man who hasn't gotten 'hitched' with anyone," Yahiro countered with a wry smile, probably unaware that Souta once had feelings for Inori, himself.

"Well, I suppose that makes two of us, eh?"

He laughed, but I could tell there was a bit of pain behind his words, too. Thankfully Tsugumi broke up the conversation when she turned and crouched low to greet a certain someone who was heading our way.

"Hare-chan! _Ohayo-o!_" she waved enthusiastically. The little girl grabbed hold of my leg and peeked around at Tsugumi shyly.

"_Konbanwa," _she squeaked.

I had to admit, small a thing as it was, it felt pretty good to have someone depend on me like that. Good...and terrifying. Hare meant the world to me, but my world was historically a very fragile and uncertain place. With her every gesture of reliance on me as her father I questioned whether her trust was well-placed. Was I really capable of being the protector she needed? I wasn't sure, but I knew with all my heart that I was going to try my hardest.

A moment later Inori showed up behind Hare, bringing with her a plate full of sweets to share with everyone.

_"Konbanwa, _everyone," Inori greeted, holding the plate forward. No further explanation was necessary—we all took our pick right away.

"Enjoying yourselves, I hope?"

"Arisa-san," Inori gave a slight bow towards our host as she approached. "_Arigatou._ Everything is perfect."

"Including that speech," Ayase added. "You really have a natural talent."

"You're too kind."

"Ah! Kuhouin-san," a deep male voice came out of nowhere, shortly followed by a man in an expensive-looking suit. I got the feeling he wasn't from around here, but apparently he was at least familiar enough with Arisa to break in on a conversation. Not that any of us expected to get a very long time with her—she probably wouldn't get more than five minutes with anyone all night.

"Excuse me," she dismissed herself with a polite nod.

The man stopped Arisa with a handshake before she even had a chance to go elsewhere. Souta quickly struck up a new subject with the others, but I for one couldn't help but listen in on our host's conversation, being directly next to her.

"Kuhouin-san," the man repeated. "Xiu Shen, head of the Ming-Hua Group in Shanghai."

Arisa tensed.

"P-pleased to..._finally_ make your acquaintance."

"Likewise. Though much time has passed, I believe we still have much to offer each other, Kuhouin-san."

"Oh?"

"Yes. But that is not why I am here tonight. It would be inconsiderate to muddle up your nation's festivities with business."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Xiu-xiansheng, but with all due respect, I think we both know people like you and I are never free of our business."

The Chinese man smiled, obviously enthralled with Arisa and pleased at her knowledge of his people's honorifics.

"Indeed. Then consider it my business today to offer a formal apology on behalf of my country."

"An apology?"

"Yes. Naturally, Da'ath's downfall has not affected only your shores. We too have seen much reform in the years since—the Ming-Hua Group more than anyone. Shanghai is our jurisdiction, you understand."

And Shanghai is where Da'ath had been hiding for who knows how long, until they revealed themselves to try and draw in Cocytus and start the Final Apocalypse. I remembered. Whatever role this Ming-Hua Group played in that, I certainly couldn't trust any representative of theirs now. My ears attuned to the talk even more.

"We are well aware of the role we played in Japan's troubles, but I for one sincerely hope that moving forward we may have a more...cooperative relationship," the man continued. "So have I made the journey to show my support. I have always found Japanese spirit...attractive. You are every bit the inspiration you aspired to be in your address."

Somehow I got the feeling that 'you' wasn't plural.

"Thank you for coming, Xiu-xiansheng. You do us an honor."

I watched from the corner of my eye as the Chinese man took Arisa's hand and discretely placed something in it, gently folding her fingers securely on top.

"I trust we will meet again?" he asked. Arisa looked doubtful at first, but then took a quick look at the object in her hand. Near as I could tell it was only a piece of paper, but whatever was written on it certainly got her attention.

"I trust we will," she answered confidently, jaw dropped.

"...right, Shu?"

I came back to my friends' conversation at the sound of my name, but I had no clue what I was being asked.

"_Moshi-moshi_! Earth to Shu!" Tsugumi waved a hand in front of my face. "What are you thinking about?"

"A-ah, it's nothing."

Everyone but Inori accepted that as an answer. I could see in her eyes that she intended to ask me about it later, in private.

"So? How about it?" Souta repeated with a gleam in his eyes.

"How about...what?"

"Man, you really weren't paying attention? We're talking about calling in sick tomorrow and taking an outing, just like old times!"

"We used to take outings?"

"Well...once or twice, but come on! Just look at Inori and Hare-chan! How long has it been since you last took these ladies to the beach?"

Well that made me feel like a bad husband. So much of Inori's and my relationship had been preoccupied with the problems around us that we never really even considered taking time off for ourselves. It just didn't come naturally.

"Shu? Can we?" Inori asked sweetly.

Before I could answer, Souta leaned over and covered one side of his mouth, dropping his voice to a whisper.

"Come on, man, have a little sympathy! It's been ten years since GHQ, and your buddies Souta and Yahiro are still flying solo! You've got Inori, Arugo-san's got Katsumi-san...Ayase and Tsugumi are just waiting to happen!"

"Eh? Is that what this is about?"

"I've got it all figured out. Just agree to go along so the party's on and leave the rest to me."

"I...suppose we can work it out...I guess," I told everyone.

Souta let off a tremendous fist pump.

"_Yosh-a_! You're a real friend, Shu!"

While they might not have expressed it quite the same way, the others seemed genuinely excited as well. It really had been a long time since we last got together just to have fun. Maybe we were subconsciously afraid of letting our guard down even after so many years. But the Kuhouin party had reawakened something in us. To tell the truth, I even looked forward to it, myself. I just hoped whatever Souta was planning wouldn't cause any trouble.

* * *

><p>GC<p>

* * *

><p><em>Day 01, 2049 A.D.<em>

The following morning was bright and warm, perfect for Souta's beach outing. Those of us that worked in the Special Intelligence Division—the Rooks, as Shibungi unofficially dubbed the team—had to remain on call for the day, but otherwise we were given permission to take the day off for a change. If there was anything good about being a surviving member of Funeral Parlor and the Lost Christmas incidents, getting special treatment just for asking had to be it. As for the others, well, Hare was so excited that Inori couldn't have kept her at home if she tried, and of course Souta wouldn't miss this day for the world...so that just left Yahiro. Presently we waited for him at the beach entrance, all loaded from head to toe with all the food and supplies we'd need for the day. After waiting for a while Souta got fed up and dropped his belongings on the ground to start making calls.

"Man, how could he have forgotten," he moaned, punching a number into the holographic display on his communication device.

There was no answer. He tried again. Same result.

"Come on, pick up—oh! Maybe Yahiro's the type that prefers texting..."

He hurriedly typed out a message and sent it off.

"How long do we wait for a response?" Tsugumi asked. "It's getting hot just standing here."

Souta counted to five on his fingers, then clicked the device shut.

"Oh well, his loss! Let's go, he can join us when he's ready."

"Mama," Hare tugged at Inori's beach skirt. "Can we go now?"

"You bet!" Souta answered for her. "Want to race, Hare-chan?"

"Race? Ok!"

"Three..."

"_Oi_, Souta, you're going to forget your things," I tried reminding him.

"Two..."

He didn't hear.

"H-hey, wait! No fair!" Tsugumi dropped her beach gear and took position next to Souta and hare.

"One..."

"Wait, who's going to—"

"Go!"

The competitors were off like a shot, both Souta and Tsugumi laughing and pacing themselves to not get ahead of Hare. One glance over at Ayase and I could see in her eyes that she longed to take off running with them, but she was doing well just to lug along so much as it was.

"Well," she smiled, "shall we go?"

Inori nodded.

_"I guess that leaves me to carry everything..."_

I let the girls go ahead while I loaded up as much as I could of Souta and Tsugumi's things on my shoulders—on top of my own stuff. It was a lot to manage, and it would've all come toppling down, but just before the tower could fall a hand reached up and lightened my load a bit.

"Don't overwork yourself, Shu."

"_Arigatou, _Inori."

I didn't say it, but my thanks was more than just for her help in sharing the weight. It was always little moments like this that reminded me how fortunate I was to have Inori in my life. Before I met her I was often alone, at home, at school. Maybe it was my own fault in part, maybe I was just different. Whatever the reason, even years later I still had a tendency to presume upon being left behind. But I never was. Not anymore. Inori _always _took notice and came to my aid. This was but one little occurrence of far too many to count.

Once we finally made it to the beach I took an umbrella, popped it open, and thrust it deep into the sand. It felt good to have everything off my shoulders—not just physically. For the first time in forever I felt I could truly relax and enjoy myself. I took a deep breath, stretched, and then simply stood still for a while. Watching. Listening. Feeling the cool sea breeze. Hearing the surf crash gently on the shore, melding with the splashes and laughter of Souta, Ayase, and Tsugumi playing with Hare in the water.

A soft mass of hair leaned against my arm. Inori didn't say anything, just reached around me as I reached around her so we could watch and listen and be still together.

"She looks like you," I broke the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Hare. She may have darker hair, but the rest is totally you."

Totally Mana. No, I couldn't think of it that way. My sister was dead. Her existence didn't haunt me anymore. I had the eyesight to prove it. Hare was only her mother's, and her mother was Inori, not Mana. Still, the idea must've been disturbing enough to show on my face.

"Shu? Are you happy?"

I responded with a peck on Inori's cheek.

"Couldn't be happier."

Never imagined I'd say those words and mean it.

"_Oi_, Shu! Inori-san! Come on and join us!" Souta waved.

"Well," I stretched again, "guess we better get over there before Souta causes any trouble."

"Souta-kun? What kind of trouble would he cause?"

I pretended not to hear. Inori grasped that I wasn't merely joking, and while I tended to disagree with his methods, I didn't necessarily want to disrupt whatever Souta was planning by explaining everything to her within earshot of the others.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

I ran up behind Hare and swept her up out of the water, then fell backwards into it while holding her on top of me. She laughed at the resulting splash and immediately asked for me to do it again. I didn't get the chance. Just then a beach ball appeared out of nowhere and bounced off the back of my head.

"Hey!"

"Tamadate-san did it!" Hare pointed. "I saw him! I really did!"

Souta just laughed and dove after the ball.

"No you don't!" Tsugumi charged off, herself.

Both reached the prize at the same moment, and after a bit of tussling back and forth Ayase jumped in and knocked the ball away with her head.

"Inori!"

Thinking fast, Inori reached up and punched the ball as it sailed towards her...and then we all watched it sail away into the sky in the opposite direction.

"Oops. Was that too hard?"

Souta and Tsugumi turned to look at the ball bobbing up and down in the water a long ways off, then back at each other, then back at the ball. In another instant water started flying everywhere and the two were off to the races once more. Only this time Souta did something a bit unexpected. Instead of hitting the ball back to us, he chucked it off towards the beach, making it look like an accident (and doing a rather poor job of it, at that).

"E-eh? What is he doing?" Ayase wondered aloud.

_"Shoot, I should probably distract her..."_

"_Eto_...oh! Inori!"

I reached down, intending to give her a little splash just to redirect Ayase's attention, but in my haste I accidentally scooped up a huge armful with my false right hand and completely doused Inori over the head.

"Shu!"

_"Oops."_

Well, at least it got Ayase to look away while Souta went up onto the beach with Tsugumi. But now I had a problem on my hands.

"S-Shu!"

"_G-gomen..._Inori-cha—"

Somehow my mouth suddenly filled with salt water before I could finish apologizing and I slipped over backwards into the ocean. Worse, when I came back up, sputtering for air, not one of the girls around me had any sympathy, not even Hare.

"Mama! Get him again! Get him again!"

"Yes, Inori, why don't you splash Shu again?" Ayase teased smugly.

"Actually, I think Hare should splash Ayase-san," I hinted none too discretely.

"E-eh!? But, why m—"

"Here it comes, Shinomiya-san!"

"_Chotto, _Hare-chan, aah!"

Ayase's hair went limp as the water settled. At first I was afraid she might be genuinely upset at me for encouraging Hare, but then instead we all just shared a long laugh. I'd almost forgotten how good it felt.

"Pervert!"

Our laughter died down in an instant as all eyes turned in the direction of the voice. We looked just in time to see Souta stumbling backwards and tumbling into the water with a red mark on the side of his face and Tsugumi standing at the surf's edge, beach ball under one hand, the other outstretched like she'd just delivered Souta a slap.

"_Oi_, what was that for!?" he rubbed his cheek. "I was just going for the ball!"

"Uh-huh, likely story!"

"Should we rescue him?" I asked Ayase and Inori.

The girls looked at each other and then back at me.

"Nah."

Understandably, that was the end of Souta trying to make any moves for a while.

Before we knew it the afternoon had worn on into the evening and the sky started showing the first signs of sunset. We were all happily worn out by that point—even Hare, despite all her energy—and just walked along the beach together, talking and laughing. I felt a little bad that Souta hadn't gotten any real opportunities with either Ayase or Tsugumi, but I had done as he asked and more, so it couldn't be helped. But then:

"A-ah, you know what would be perfect right about now?" Souta grinned as we walked along. "Ice cream! There's some stands along the boardwalk. Anyone up for it?"

Of course nobody was going to say no. Hare outright cheered, nearly causing me to drop her as she rode along on my shoulders.

"Ice cream? Yay!"

"_Yosh_! Then it's settled!"

"Hold on," Tsugumi said. "I left my card in the car. Be right back!"

"Wait!" Souta held out a hand. "I'll, uhh...I'll go with you!"

"Huh? O...ok. It's not very far or anything."

"Well...I...have to get my card, too. Yeah!"

That might've been true, but even so, Souta's ulterior motives were all too obvious.

"We'll be back in a bit," he flashed me a wink. "You four can go on ahead and start looking at flavors!"

"Just don't go buying without us!" Tsugumi added.

"We won't!" Ayase called after them as they walked away. "Those two get along pretty well, don't they?"

"Souta seems to hope so, at least."

"Yeah—wait, what? He does?"

Woops. He probably would've preferred I not make that public.

"Is that why you were acting strange earlier?" Inori asked. "Is Souta-kun up to something? And he's got you in on it too, doesn't he."

"Well...heheheh..."

I nervously rubbed the back of my neck.

"...well, about that ice cream..."

Ayase grabbed me by the wrist.

"Are you kidding? We've got to go watch what happens, now!"

"Ayase!"

"Don't 'Ayase' me, Ouma Shu! I didn't give you or Souta permission to try and set things up. That means you should be punished. First we're going to watch what happens, then you and he are going to treat us all."

"Wait, why do I have to do that?"

"You don't just go sticking someone in the middle of two girls' friendship," she poked a finger at my nose. "Haven't you taught him these things yet, Inori?"

Inori just smiled and shook her head at the both of us.

"I'll watch Hare at the ice cream stand. You two go on."

"Right."

Still holding on to my wrist, Ayase charged off towards the parking lot with me closely in tow. I'd seen Special Intelligence Division missions that she took with less seriousness than this.

"You heard the woman! Rooks: move out!"

"But this isn't a Rook mis—"

"And keep your voice down, or they'll hear us coming!"

Whatever claims I ever made about Ayase's limited mobility, I took it all back then and there. Her legs worked just fine when she really wanted them to. We caught up with Tsugumi and Souta in no time and took position behind a big sign where we could peek out without being seen.

"I don't suppose you have a refractive camouflage anywhere in all that beach gear of yours, do you?" Ayase whispered. "Sure would be nice if we were invisible."

"No, why would I bring that?"

"Well...then just don't get us caught."

When we looked around the sign Souta and Tsugumi were standing together by Tsugumi's car. Souta was presently doing all the talking.

"...hope you had fun today. I-it really is perfect weather, and—uh—I'm sure the sunset will be nice, tonight."

"Well, it _was _your idea. I suppose we should thank you, huh?"

"Ah-ha, well, it was...just a little thought I had. Thought it might be nice for everyone to be together again, you know? For us...to be together."

"No way," Ayase whispered, "he's totally confessing!"

"Y-yeah," Tsugumi started to look a bit nervous. "So, uh, should we go back now?"

"W-wait! Tsugumi-san. I know it's not like we've ever known each other really well, but...after everything we've done today...all the feelings I've had from spending the day together...well, I know now that those feelings were real! I...I want—"

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"I think I like you, Tsugumi-san!"

_Beep! Beep!_

We were all so caught up in the moment that I didn't even realize at first the sound was coming from...well, _me_. But not just me: Ayase too, and Tsugumi!

_"Is that...our pagers?"_

With all the noise our cover was effectively blown. Souta and Tsugumi turned to look and caught us red-handed—though that was nothing compared to Souta's red face.

"Come on out, Aya-nee, we know you're there," Tsugumi called, fishing around her belongings for the source of the beeping.

"Huh? Shu? Ayase-san? Were you spying!? Shu! I thought you were playing for my team!"

"I was, just—"

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

I pulled my pager out and flipped the device open. Tsugumi and Ayase found theirs shortly after and did the same.

"Rooks, this is Shibungi," a voice said. There was no video feed, so I got the impression this was not a prepared communication.

"Aye-aye, all present and accounted for!" Tsugumi replied.

"Is Samukawa Yahiro with you, by any chance?"

"Yahiro..."

Now that I thought about it, he never did show up that day. Never responded to Souta's text, either.

"No, Shibungi-daitouryou," I confirmed.

"Then I fear we have a serious problem on our hands. Rooks, I am calling you in to headquarters immediately. I will brief you with more information when you arrive."

"Roger."

"Make it quick. Shibungi out."

The communication was severed.

"W-wait, you're going to work _now_?" Souta asked, exasperated.

"Hey, not everyone can make it in film, you know!" Tsugumi answered.

"But what about—"

"Oh, you groping me earlier today? Yeah, I forgive you. Well, gotta go!"

"B-but that's not...oh, man..."

I felt bad for Souta, but all of a sudden I had other things on my mind. Shibungi was calm as always, but there was an urgency in his voice I hadn't heard in a very long time. And whatever it was, it had something to do with Yahiro. I tried not to jump to conclusions, but my mind easily imagined the worst. Yahiro and I had a very troubled history, and while I wanted to think that was all behind us now, it was impossible not to worry. I had a family to think about, after all. For the past few years I successfully kept them out of harm's way. Whatever trouble was brewing, I couldn't let them get caught up in it. Days like today—that's what I wanted for us, always. Our outing had finally given me a taste of peace...and I wasn't about to give that up, no matter who or what the threat.

_"What are you up to, Yahiro?"_

I put away my pager and took out a comm device to give Inori the news. From the looks of it, our little beach outing was about to turn into a very long day. I didn't care. Already I felt myself revitalizing on-demand in preparation for the late night.

_"I will protect this peace for you, Hare, Inori...no matter what it takes."_

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes: Yep, two chapters in one day! Thought I would post these two at once since they were very closely tied together, and in fact this is a relatively intricate plot so I had to make sure I had my outline together before finalizing anything. But it's here now, and hopefully I won't wish I made more changes later :P<em>

_Thanks for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed this little look into the peaceful life for the Guilty Crown crew. Obviously more was going on here than just the beach trip, but hey, I felt like our heroes deserved a break. Next time things will really pick up, I promise ;)_


	3. Phase 24-2

**Phase 24.2**

_Day 02, 2049 A.D._

The clock had just ticked past midnight to another day when the last of the Rooks finally gathered in the briefing room with Shibungi himself up front to do the talking. Whatever was going on, everyone knew it must be big. There had been an incident, that much was obvious, but anyone on duty when it occurred was not supposed to tell anyone else about it before the official meeting, and while Shibungi made a point of frequently addressing the Special Intelligence Division personally, this particular visit seemed a bit sudden. The hour was late, but nobody felt it. My heart beat a little harder in my chest.

Shibungi look a slow look about the room to make sure every seat was filled, then pushed his glasses up, cleared his throat, and folded his hands behind his back.

"I would thank you all for coming on such short notice, but I'm afraid this is a matter of duty, not invitation. Everyone here has chosen it for himself, so instead I will thank you for your dedication to your country and in particular your contributions to the Special Intelligence Division. We have always benefited from each and every member, but there are times when your skills and teamwork are tested—even demanded—more than others."

Shibungi narrowed his gaze.

"This may well be one of those times."

And Yahiro had something to do with it. Whatever it was, I was ready to find out. At least...that's what I told myself.

"At approximately 2100 hours, the Rooks received a public transmission from an anonymous caller."

At the press of a remote in his hand, a massive screen behind Shibungi came to life and displayed the first frame of a video recording. It was difficult to make out—the image was little more than a person's shadow, and that obscured by a hood or possibly long hair.

"The footage was posted across multiple media portals as well as our own private channels. Though we've done our best to remove it from the public, unfortunately it has already gone viral on several sources.

"As you can see, the caller carefully silhouetted himself and made a point of recording in an indistinct location. He also used a voice-altering technique and complex network of proxies to protect his identity. And as for the message itself, well...I will let you listen for yourselves."

Another press of a button and the video started playing.

"Greetings, people of Japan, and congratulations on your first ten years of independence from GHQ," a deep, machine-like voice said. "We are truly impressed by your achievements, and for that you should be commended. But let's not be unreasonable. It is no victory that abandons its foe asleep and forgotten. And we intend to be remembered.

"The time for new beginnings has itself only just begun. Your little ten-year diversion has been only that—a momentary distraction, soon to reach its predestined end. Prepare yourselves: in six days God created the world, and so shall we do the same. Today, Japan's judgment is at hand. Come day six, its selection will be complete. Do not doubt us. As a gesture of our sincerity, we have already prepared our first selection: Samukawa Yahiro, a recognized opponent of GHQ and Da'ath and former creator of the infamous Void Ranking System."

I leaned forward in my chair. How did this person know about the Void Ranking System? And more importantly, Yahiro: '_former _creator'? I didn't want to believe I interpreted the message correctly. But there was no mistaking it.

"If you are watching this recording, then it means he has already stood the trial of natural selection...and been selected out. For every life we aim to take, our success is a sign of Selection's blessing. But fear not: those who endure this purge to the end shall prove their worthiness to take part in the next world.

"We are the chosen: the chosen...to be the choosers. Heed my words: the will of natural selection has realized the error of its ways...and it won't make the same mistake again."

The silhouette shifted as a shadowy arm reached up and turned off the camera, ending the video.

"We...can only speculate why Samukawa was a primary target," Shibungi resumed, taking position back in front of the screen. "Perhaps it was pure convenience—an easy victim to make a point. Whatever the reality, we have confirmed that our caller makes no idle threat. A police investigation and forensics team has already completed a thorough scan of Samukawa's apartment. His body was not found, but the apartment itself was trashed. The invaders were careful—no fingerprints, security footage, or other identifiable evidence was left behind that we have discovered so far. What we did find, however, was this."

Shibungi switched the screen to a picture of Yahiro's bedroom, where a message had been hastily carved into the wall, all in English letters: "REBORN ~F.P."

"F...P.?" Ayase read aloud to herself from a few seats down my row.

I was puzzled, too. The use of English initials was intentionally ambiguous. F translated to Japanese easily enough, but P? 'P' what? 'Pa'? 'Pe'? It could be anything. Or maybe the caller's initials weren't for a Japanese name at all—maybe an English name, maybe an alias. From those two simple characters sprung a variety of possibilities to cloud an otherwise simple identification. Of course, it was a mystery why we had any identification at all. With no evidence left behind, this could have been the perfect crime. So why tell the authorities about it?

"As no body was found Samukawa will be considered alive unless proven deceased. I will not lie to you: the odds of his survival are slim at best. Nevertheless, until we know the capabilities and intentions of the perpetrator, nothing can be said for certain. We should respect his warnings of impending disaster, but do not let yourselves or the public play into his hand. Panic is likely an intended result of the message, so we must handle the situation delicately. Our first objective, as it stands, is to learn everything we can about who and what we are dealing with. Lieutenant Sendo, I want your team to do a thorough background check on anyone you can find with the initials 'F.P.', aliases included."

"Aye-aye!" Tsugumi saluted.

"Ouma-kun, you'll be on audio processing. See if you can't reverse the voice alterations and identify the speaker's voice imprint."

"Yes, sir!"

Guess my time learning audio and video in the Tennouzu High film research club was about to pay off.

"Everyone else: I have forwarded detailed reports of all available intel to your terminals. You know what to do. Dismissed."

The rows of Rook agents slowly stood up and filed out to get to their stations. The reluctance was palpable—and not just in the others. I felt it, too. Something was missing from that meeting—something we all recognized but even Shibungi himself didn't want to admit without further evidence.

"That sounded like Da'ath," Ayase said as we walked out together. "That message...the words he used. It sounded like Da'ath, didn't it?"

"_Un_." Yeah, it did.

I made no further comment.

As expected, that night was a sleepless one. Everyone worked ceaselessly from that moment forward, most of us maintaining consciousness only on a constant stream of coffee and soda. The perpetrators—for the message _did_ suggest more than one—had covered their tracks well. IP addresses, GPS traces, forensics reports—all of it led straight to a dead end. And while we struggled to turn up any useful intel, meanwhile the internet lit up with a surge of traffic on media portals and discussion boards spreading rumors and misinformation on top of the viral video that started it all. Much longer and Shibungi's prediction of widespread panic would be dead on.

I cringed at the metaphor of my own thinking—an inappropriate pun, under the circumstances. No matter how much I told myself Yahiro might still be alive I struggled to actually believe it. Worse, I felt like I owed him something for doubting him when I first got the news that he was involved with the incident. Here he was the victim and my first assumption was that he caused the problem. Even if he never knew, I had to make it up to him. Little else occupied my mind as I worked, trying to reverse-engineer the voice-alterations on the video. The audio stream was unusually heavily compressed, meaning any heavy adjustments I made basically ruined it and rendered the audio unsuitable for getting a voice imprint out of. It was like the creator anticipated an attempted reversal of the voice filter. But I kept trying. I had to try.

Hopefully the other teams were faring better than I was. Perhaps if Tsugumi's team could figure out the identification of 'F.P.' my audio work could validate their findings even if it wasn't useful or conclusive on its own. But I didn't have high hopes. Incredible as Tsugumi was, she had a nigh-on impossible task. The Rooks just didn't have enough leads. We needed something else—something right under our noses that we were simply missing or overthinking. That's always how our cases worked. Then again, we'd never had a case quite like this one, before.

Stifling a yawn, I downed my last bit of caffeine and returned to the audio controls at my terminal.

"...already prepared our first selection: Samukawa Yahiro, a recog—"

No, that wasn't right. Something was still affecting the pitch. I guessed at a few adjustments and played the sample again.

"As a gesture of our sincerity, we have already prep—"

Still didn't sound natural. Not sure what I expected. I was grasping at straws by now. I couldn't think straight enough to make intelligent changes.

"...prepared our first selection: Samukawa Yahi—"

I looked back over the log of things I'd tried and my notes of what worked and what didn't work. Suddenly a critical flaw in my logic stood out to me, and I realized I'd been working off a faulty premise all along. We _assumed _the voice originated as a human audio recording, but what little of my adjustments made any improvements suggested a completely synthesized voice, instead. If that was true I should've worked at figuring out if the voice was developed by a particular company, and if so, check the software licenses of all their clients to see if one of them was this 'F.P.'. But _that _would assume our perpetrator legally purchased the voice through official channels. He might not have. He might have even developed it himself, or through an accomplice. At this point any of that seemed more likely than getting a usable voice imprint from this sample. I sighed and erased my logs a few hours back. I hate wasted effort.

"...Samukawa Yahiro, a recognized opponent of GHQ and Da'ath and former creator of the infamous Void Ranking Sys—"

I slammed the 'stop' button and slumped back in my chair, exhausted. If I had to listen to that phrase one more time, I swore I'd go insane. The motivation to even move slipped away. My eyes started to slide shut.

"Visitor for Ouma Shu. Ouma Shu: please report to ground floor."

The sound of the PA system jolted me back awake.

"Huh? A visitor? At this hour?"

Only then did I realize that 'this hour' was nearly eight in the morning. We had worked all night and still come up short. I couldn't even think hard enough to be depressed about it. Maybe a little break would be the best thing for me. I slid the chair back and stood up, legs initially unsteady for going unused so long. Pretty sure I fell asleep standing up on the elevator ride down, too. When the door opened on the ground floor I regained what little composure I had left and marched up to the lobby, trying to look alive.

"Shu," my visitor greeted. It was Inori. She came over and wrapped her arms around me, leaning her head on my chest. Even if I might've fooled someone else, she could tell I was spent.

"Inori? Where's Hare?"

"I left her with Haruka. Here," she held up a plastic bag, "I brought breakfast. Eat with me?"

I nodded.

We couldn't go far since I was still technically on-duty, so we picked a spot on the walkway steps outside where no one was likely to pass by for a while. The sky was cloudy this morning, our beach outing already a distant memory to the world. It looked like it could rain.

"Here," Inori handed me a package as we sat down.

In all honesty I didn't feel much like eating after pulling an all-nighter and consuming enough caffeine to drown an Endlave, but I couldn't turn Inori down. My hands clumsily unwrapped the plastic mass until the contents showed inside.

_"Onigiri. Inori's favorite."_

"Shu? Can you...tell me about it?"

It wasn't a question of willingness. Part of working in the Special Intelligence Division was being restricted from talking about certain things to anyone not on the job—often even family. But in this case since the video announcing the crime was everywhere already, I figured it was safe to give Inori the basics.

"Yahiro's been..."

My voice trailed off. Kidnapped or killed—which should I say? Both words refused to come out of my mouth.

"He's in trouble. Serious trouble. Someone who talks like Da'ath is making threats, and Yahiro's the first victim. There will probably be more if we don't figure out who's doing it and why."

Inori scooted closer, brushing shoulders with me.

"You worked all night. Does that mean you found a lead?"

I nearly choked on a piece of rice ball. If only.

"I guess I haven't heard from all the other teams yet, but I think I would have if any of them found something big. I certainly didn't get anywhere."

"Shu," Inori stopped my arm before I could take another bite. I knew what was coming. We'd been over this before a number of times. "Let me help you."

"Inori, you—"

"I'm serious, Shu. Let me join the Rooks."

I let out an exasperated sigh.

"This is different," she kept arguing her cause. "One of our friends is involved this time, and you obviously need the help. So let me."

"Inori—"

"Shu. _Onegai_." _Please._

I looked down at the half-eaten rice ball sitting in a heap of plastic on my lap. It was never easy to turn her down, but even harder right after she'd gone out of her way to think of me.

"Inori...I'm sorry. I just...you need to be with Hare."

"Haruka would take care of her during the day. You know that."

"It's not just that. Why do you think I stayed on with the Rooks, Inori? After Da'ath was defeated, a lot of people questioned whether the Special Intelligence Division even needed to exist. The reason it still does, and the reason I'm a part of it, is to make sure something like Da'ath never happens again. For Hare. Our lives may never be normal after what we've been through, but I won't let that stop me from trying to give Hare the things life took away from us."

Inori neither admitted defeat nor pushed me further after that. Instead a pair of lips pressed gently against my cheek.

"I'll let you get back to work," Inori stood up. "When will you be home?"

"After keeping us all night, it probably won't be long."

"Don't overwork yourself, Shu. Call me if you're going to be late, alright?"

"A-ah. I will as soon as I find out—wait a second!"

All of a sudden an idea struck me like lightning.

"Inori! You're wonderful!"

I swept the girl up into my arms and gave her a kiss.

"E-eh? Shu! What is it?"

She must've thought I'd gone crazy from sleep deprivation.

"I have to get back to work. I'll see you later, alright? And be careful!"

"Well...alright."

We parted ways and I stuffed the final remains of a rice ball into my mouth as I charged back into the building, repeating the idea in my head so that I couldn't possibly forget it. I tried to warn myself that it might not amount to anything, but it was the best idea I had all night. It was at least worth looking into.

I hurried to the elevators and mashed the button until it was clear someone else was using it. That wouldn't do, so I took the stairs instead, strangely revitalized. I didn't even stop to catch my breath when I reached my office's floor and then my desk, ignoring all the odd looks I got from other Rook agents along the way. All of my audio processing work was still on display at the terminal, but I shoved the holograms away and in their place opened up Shibungi's report.

_"Number number number...there!"_

I selected a number on the display and initiated a call with the police investigation team assigned to Yahiro's case. Moments later the stern face of a middle-aged detective appeared on the screen.

"This is SID agent Ouma Shu," I introduced myself. "Detective, I am authorizing a warrant to search any and all communication devices found in Samukawa Yahiro's residence. Give me everything you find—_everything_." 

* * *

><p>GC<p>

* * *

><p>A light rain pattered on the window as I worked late into the afternoon. As I suspected, the police investigation team had already filed for a warrant to search Yahiro's communication devices when I called, but as usual there was some red tape to be waded through before they could actually get it. When I approved the action for them things finally kicked into high gear, though, and before long the Rooks were provided with clones of all of Yahiro's data. Then it had to be decrypted, which took Tsugumi's team a while what with their previously assigned duties, keeping me on the edge of my seat for hours as the day wore on. But now at last I had it—the key I'd been searching for. I only hoped it would turn out to be worth the wait.<p>

Bracing myself for disappointment, I opened up the data from Yahiro's phone and jumped straight to his call history. Numerous unread messages and unanswered voicemails filled the screen, several of them from Souta trying to get a hold of Yahiro for our beach outing. That's what made me think to check if Yahiro's phone was left behind in his apartment in the first place. I scrolled past to the night before—the night of the Kuhouin party. I knew for a fact Yahiro was there, so whatever happened to him happened between that event and Souta's messages. The first several entries were marked as answered...but then the last one on the list caught my eye. There was no caller info. No name, no number—nothing. It could've just corrupted in the cloning or decryption process. But if it hadn't...

I selected the file and leaned in closer to the screen. It was a voicemail. I had a hunch why. If the name and number really were blank, Yahiro probably wouldn't have answered right away, even though the timestamps suggested he probably had the phone with him when the call was made. My hand nervously reached up to play the audio.

"Is this the right number?" a calm, yet flustered voice asked, barely more than a whisper. "Samukawa Yahiro? A-ah...I know you're listening. I cannot risk explaining over this channel, so pay close attention if you want to live. I estimate you have 15 minutes. Meet me outside your apartment at coordinates 35°40', 139°40'. I'd advise not being late...Sugar."

The call was abruptly cut off at the mention of Yahiro's alias from when he was a Norma Gene dealer. His phone showed a record of answering the call—this must be when he picked up. I could hardly blame him. Knowing about the Void Ranking System was one thing—lots of people were witnesses to that—but Yahiro's drug dealing to pay for his brother's medical treatment was not exactly public knowledge.

_"Just who _are_ you?"_

I listened to the message again, this time paying close attention to the voice itself. It struck me as oddly familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on who it belonged to. I'd met a lot of people in recent years working for the Rooks, so picking one of them out was impossible. Thankfully, I didn't have to.

_"You want a voice imprint, Shibungi-daitouryou?"_

My fingers started flying, operating the computer as fast as humanly possible.

_"Well...you've...got one!"_

I slammed one final keystroke and waited for the voicemail to be analyzed and turn up anyone's name who matched. There was a brief pause, then a list appeared on the screen. A list...with only one entry.

"'No registered citizens found'?"

I slumped over and let my head bang on the desk.

"So he's not Japanese. Great. Now we have to get permission from other countries to let us search their databases. He certainly sounded like a native speaker, though. Ugh, why can't anything just make sense!"

On the bright side, we did have more information now than we started with. Beyond that this had gone out of my control. I'd have to report to Shibungi and let him work things out with the other nations of the world. Stifling a yawn I picked my head up and initialized a communication with Shibungi. Not surprisingly, it took several minutes for him to answer.

"Yes, Ouma Shu," the president's face appeared on my screen at last.

"Shibungi-daitouryou. I am sending you logs of my attempts to reverse-edit the audio of the perpetrator."

"Were you successful?"

"No. I think the voice used in the video was entirely synthesized. I did find something else, though."

"Send it to me."

"Already done. I contacted the police navigation team assigned to Yahiro's case and granted them a warrant to search his comm devices. One of them had a voicemail I think you will want to hear. And the voice is unmodified."

"Excellent. Have you identified the caller?"

"No. He was very well anonymized and the voice imprint doesn't match any known registered citizens. Must be foreign."

"_Naruhodo_."_ I see. _

An echo over my speakers told me that Shibungi was listening to the voicemail I submitted. He stroked his chin thoughtfully and made no further comment until it played all the way through.

"Impossible..." he muttered.

"Shibungi-san?"

"Do you not recognize it? This recording, this voice...it's—"

A burst of sound sent me reeling back away from the terminal. In the same instant all the lights went off and every machine in the building let out a long, drawn-out groan. By the time I even gathered my wits about me the room was already still and silent, the only light coming from tear-traced windows along the side of the building. Did the storm take us down? It didn't look nearly severe enough for that.

"Umm...power's out!" I shouted the obvious just to break the silence.

It was like a death. We didn't have power outages often, and around the Special Intelligence Division machines were everywhere, always operating around the clock. All of that artificial life: just _stopped_. Being tired only added all the more to the eeriness of the sudden change of scene.

"_Oi!_ Why aren't the backup generators kicking in?" someone called from their cubicle outside my office.

"Strange...I tried contacting Maintenance but I can't get through!" said another.

"They're probably rather busy right about now."

"No, it's not that they just aren't answering. It's like our comm devices themselves are offline!"

"E-eh!? You serious?"

I decided to test my coworker's discovery and try to contact Shibungi. Sure enough, it was no good. Something was actively jamming my signal.

_"This isn't good..."_

"Everyone," I stood up to speak to the other Rooks, "I'm going to go investigate. Stay put unless someone tells you otherwise."

"Wait, how will we hear from anyone if we don't go with you?"

"Well, if nothing is really wrong we should be back online before anyone needs to get in contact."

I didn't mention my real reasoning—that if there actually was any danger we needed to stay organized and keep our bases covered, not be running all over the building. Something was making me very uneasy, but until those feelings could be grounded in reality there was no point in worrying everyone else over them. No doubt they had their own concerns already. Our minds were worn out and would easily jump to conclusions, and that wasn't something I wanted to encourage. Still, I couldn't ignore that sense of foreboding, myself.

I drew my pistol, turned on its flashlight, and stepped out into the pitch-black stairwell. I couldn't see more than one floor up or down, and ambient noises echoed in every direction. With nothing operational I felt like I needed to hold my breath to keep from being heard. Then again, I wasn't sure why I felt like I needed to avoid being heard in the first place.

_ "Come on, keep yourself together! There's nothing to be afraid of."_

...I kept my back to the wall and started moving up the stairs, pistol ever at the ready. To get to Maintenance I'd have to go down, but there wasn't much point in that. They had their work cut out for them. I needed to coordinate with Shibungi and get his orders for how to handle the situation first. A round of thunder slowly rolled through the building, rattling the steps at my feet. If the weather was getting worse, maybe it really was to blame for all this. That's what I wanted to believe.

I exited the stairwell at the top floor, breathing heavily. Shibungi's SID office was just around the corner. I only had to go a bit farther, then—

"Freeze!"

A small group of men and women in black suits and sunglasses burst around the corner and took aim at me with their weapons—an arsenal of pistols and submachine guns that put my own weapon to shame.

"E-eh? Shu?" the lead man said. "Well, point those things somewhere else, people! It's Ouma Shu."

The agents lowered their guns and the lead man took off his glasses, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. It was Arugo, a prominent member of Shibungi's personal guard.

"Arugo!" I relaxed a bit. "Boy, am I glad to see you."

"That so? 'Cuz I'd really rather not show my face right about now!"

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Sorry, no time to chat! What's with the gun? Did you see anything on your way up?"

"Nothing. Literally. It's pitch black in there. Should I have seen something?"

Arugo turned to the woman standing beside him.

"Katsumi, take point!"

"Roger!"

With that Arugo, his girlfriend, and all of the other bodyguards poured into the stairwell and spread downward into the building without any one of them answering my question. Like me they were putting on a calm face, but something obviously had them really going.

_ "Why aren't they with Shibungi?"_

They must've been under orders, but I thought it uncharacteristically unresponsible of Shibungi to send his personal guard away when he couldn't make contact with anyone. Now I was all the more anxious to touch base with him. I ran around the corner to his office and to my surprise the security door was unlocked and hanging slightly agape.

"Shibungi-san?"

At the sound of my voice the door burst open and out dashed not Shibungi, but Ayase. She looked panicked—terrified. Tears threatened to fall at the corners of her eyes.

"Shu!" she stumbled, stopping just short of running right into me.

"Ayase! What's going on?"

"Shu..."

I grabbed her by the shoulders to try and calm her down, but she couldn't get a grip on herself.

"Shu! He...he's..."

My heart skipped a beat. What was she trying to say? There was only one way to find out. Leaving Ayase standing outside, trembling, I cautiously stepped into the office to look around. Shibungi was nowhere to be seen, not at his huge desk, not on the floor lying in a pool of blood as I subconsciously feared. But as I waved my pistol flashlight around, something on the wall caught my eye. I stepped closer to get a better look, and lightning flashed, bringing the anomaly into full view. It only lasted a split second, but that was plenty. The image burned vividly into my mind, and suddenly Ayase's reaction made perfect sense. Shibungi wasn't just out of the office. He was _missing_. And carved into the wall behind his desk in big, unmistakable print was that fateful message:

"REBORN ~F.P." 

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes: Whew, finally chapter 2! You may have noticed that this time around I'm doing chapters roughly twice as long as last year, so of course that means it takes roughly twice as long to write, too. That, and since I'm still developing and ironing out the details of this story, I had a couple days of banging my head on the desk and hating everything I came up with. But! A writer doesn't give up so easily. So here it is, the finished product. I hope it was at least somewhat an enjoyable read.<em>

_Also, as part of my research for writing this fanfic I of course read through Dethroned again to refresh my mind on all the details I'd be building on. As it has been a year, and one where I've developed a lot as an author, as you can imagine there were a number of little things I wanted to tweak and correct about it. Actually there were some rather big things I wanted to do, too, but didn't for the sake of time. At any rate, Dethroned is now fully re-edited with typo fixes, tweaks, and even tidbits of new content. Consider it my anniversary edit!_

_Well, that about does it for today! Thanks as always for reading!_


	4. Phase 24-3

**Phase 24.3**

_Day 03, 2049 A.D._

One day, new Japan had its first decade of peace. The next, it had its first national emergency. The president and direct head of the Special Intelligence Division was possibly dead and most definitely missing at the hands of some kind of terrorist group calling for the nation's judgment. When it was Yahiro they took, people got nervous. But with Shibungi, people feared for their lives. No one knew how the terrorists did it—not even Shibungi's personal guard who was standing right in his office when the crime was committed—but by proving that they could, they effectively seized control of the entire country. Officially Japan's vice president, a graying man named Takahashi Shinzo took charge until Shibungi could be recovered—_if _he could be recovered—but he inherited a rather empty position. The people didn't feel any more secure with a stand-in, a fact that exploded across the internet in between believers in the terrorists' video pointing fingers and saying "I told you so!" This was the terrorists' game, now. Needless to say, no one in the Rooks envied Takahashi his inheritance. We were impressed with the tenacity he displayed in accepting the challenge, though, for what it was worth. Takahashi could easily come across as an angry or bitter man, but he was more just the very determined type—determined to the point of annoyance at anything that got in his way. It would make for a very different work environment at the SID, but if Takahashi wouldn't sleep until our enemies were taken to task for their actions, that was fine with me.

I, for one, slept just fine the that night. It wasn't a restful sleep, no, but after 48 hours of endless activity not even the president's disappearance could keep me awake forever. But then another morning rolled around all too quickly and I had to lug myself out of bed to face another day, not fully refreshed, but at least a bit clearer of mind. Inori and Hare were still fast asleep when I got up. So was the sun. Still a bit bleary-eyed myself I got dressed, headed into the main room of our apartment, and turned on the television to help me wake up as I rummaged something together for breakfast. A news broadcast was on, covering—what else—Japan's missing president and his interim replacement. Currently a recording was being played of an interview with Takahashi that took place at the height of yesterday's chaos.

"Takahashi-san! How do you intend to respond to the ongoing terrorist threat? What is your take on the videos that have taken the internet by storm?" anxious news reporters shoved microphones in the man's face.

"Our investigators at the SID have uncovered records containing voice samples of one of the suspects," the troubled vice president answered. "That's where we will focus our efforts: following _actual leads_, not speculation or sensationalism. These internet broadcasts are propaganda, scare tactics. That's all they are. We need to stay focused where it counts, and so long as I remain in this position that's what we will do."

"Broadcasts?" I thought aloud.

Last I checked, there had only been one. But both the interviewer and the president alluded to multiple. I set aside my half-prepared meal and went over to the room's coffee table and double-tapped the surface to wake it up. A display appeared, automatically pulling in all the latest headlines, which were of course all on the same subject as the televised news. I quickly sifted through the items like a mess of virtual papers until one of them finally caught my eye. It was a post from a popular message board, and the thumbnail image was a shadowy figure I recognized only too well. Sure enough, the source material was only a few hours old. With a swipe of the display the post slid across the table and promptly appeared on the TV. As I half expected, the video was still online. The government just couldn't keep up with the public to contain these people. My finger hovered over the 'play' button on the table with trepidation.

"Shu?"

Inori appeared in the doorway behind me.

"Are you off to work again? What...are you watching?"

Her face was deeply concerned. Then again, whose wouldn't be right now?

"Ahaha, _nan demo nai_." _It's nothing. Really._

I faked a smile and shut off the TV with one hand while nervously rubbing the back of my neck with the other. Just then my comm device started vibrating loudly from the counter. Whoever was on the other end, I was grateful for the interruption. Inori kept looking at me questioningly, but I dodged her for the time being and scrambled to my feet to answer the call. The face of my new boss, Takahashi Shinzo himself, appeared on the phone's holographic screen.

"Ouma Shu, I presume?"

"Yes, Takahashi-daitouryou. It's good to finally meet you."

"Ouma Shu," he didn't return the pleasantry, "I've heard much about your 'accomplishments', but don't expect any special treatment from me. Whatever happened in the past, you are to me only another agent. We have lives at stake and it _just so happened_ that you found our most useful bit of intel so far. That's all."

"O-of course."

He might as well have flat-out admitted he disliked Shibungi's way of showing partiality to old friends. It was obvious enough that's what he was reacting to.

"That being said, we need a representative with the police to coordinate our efforts," the interim president continued. "You hold one of our most flexible positions and you have experience with this type of case, so that means I'm sending you off-site today. If there's more evidence at the scene I don't want to wait half a day for the police to give it to us."

"You mean at Samukawa Yahiro's apartment?"

"No. If you're not already aware then the police will fill you in when you arrive. For now you need to get moving. I'm not willing to let the perp's trail go cold again over your own irresponsibility in being uninformed."

"R-right."

"I'm glad you at least understand. I've already dispatched an escort to your location, ETA two minutes. Be ready when it arrives, and report back as soon as you learn anything. I expect results."

The screen flashed and Takahashi's face vanished from the display as he abruptly ended the communication.

"Yes...sir," I responded altogether too late.

I absentmindedly folded the phone with a weary sigh and slid it into my pocket.

_ "A new case?" _

Somehow that idea drained me of what little strength I gained back from a night's sleep. It was just too much, too fast. I wasn't exactly happy to hear I had found our only real piece of information so far. Sure, it was something, but it was far too basic and inconclusive. Shibungi was the only person to recognize the voice, and he wasn't around anymore. If both his and Yahiro's cases only turned up one voicemail to put us on track, what more could we really hope to find in a third disappearing act? What's more, Takahashi's words hit me in a place that hurt worse than he probably realized. I felt so helpless, so...so _powerless_. However frightening and horrible the Void Genome and Cocytus were, there was a certain extent to which I missed having them. They were both my fears and my security. Both had the potential to consume me—and they tried—and yet through them I conquered enemies that would have been impossible to defeat otherwise. Even now, several years in their absence, it felt like a part of me was missing.

"If only I was something..._more_," I muttered to myself, clenching a fist in frustration. "But I'm not. That's reality. But it's also reality that people are counting on me. Somehow...I have to push through. As I am. I _have _to."

For Hare. For Inori.

_"Inori!"_

I remembered then that she was still standing there, listening, watching me wallow in my crisis of self-confidence.

"Shu?"

"Hmm—oh!"

Something warm and slightly soft collided with my back and a pair of arms reached around in front of me and held on tightly. Inori pressed her head against my neck and held me there, forcing me to stop a moment and forget about everything except us two.

"I love you, Shu. I want you to know that. Even when you think no one sees the burdens you carry on your shoulders—everyone's burdens, that you bear without complaining—I see it. I may not know exactly what's going on...but I'll always be here for you. Always. I just want you to know that. Shu...I love you."

My heart melted. I raised my real hand to place on top of hers.

"Inori, I—"

A car horn sounded outside.

"I...have to go."

"Mmm. I know."

Her arms relaxed their grip and I turned around to face her for one quick moment before answering the escort's call.

"Whenever you're feeling lost inside," Inori caressed my face, "just remember me, ok?"

"_Arigatou_, Inori."

We leaned in and exchanged a brief kiss.

"I know you'll help me find the way."

The horn sounded again.

_"Sheesh, doesn't he realize what time of day it is?"_

"Well...like you said: off to work for me. Before he wakes up all the neighbors, huh."

She nodded and we parted ways. It was never easy to leave her behind, but today was harder than usual. I almost wanted to reconsider turning down her offer to join the Rooks, but no, I couldn't let my own selfishness get in the way of Hare's best interest. If I wanted us to be together, then I needed to solve this case as soon as possible so we could have the time to be a family again.

Like many things, yesterday's rainy weather carried over to haunt us another morning. I stepped outside and hurried over to an armored car waiting at the foot of my apartment building. The driver opened the door for me as I approached.

"Get in."

The face was that of a scruffy young man in half-frame glasses—frightfully young for his line of work, and oddly familiar, though I didn't recognize him as any particular acquaintance of mine from the past. But I didn't hesitate to obey to introduce myself, nor did my escort waste time with formalities when I got inside. I hadn't even buckled my seatbelt before his foot hit the gas and we were off to the scene of the crime.

"Do you know anything about the investigation?" I asked.

"Do I? Hmph. You could say that."

"Then do you know how close we are to the suspect?"

"Close?"

"Er...Takahashi-san suggested that we were in a hurry because we might be able to trail him."

"Tch, I suppose if we found identifiable evidence in oh, I don't know, the next thirty seconds we _might _be able to lock down the surrounding 50 or 100 square kilometers and search _everyone _in it."

It appeared I had upset him.

"_G-gomen_," I apologized. "I knew it sounded too good to be true."

"No, it's not you I'm irritated at."

A few seconds passed with my escort checking the road and making a few maneuvers while the windshield wipers _thump thumped _back and forth in the rain. The storm seemed to be picking up.

"Takahashi needs to get a clue," the man resumed his explanation. "I sympathize with what he's got to deal with, but being unreasonable isn't going to help anyone."

That was awfully opinionated and straightforward for an escort, I thought.

"I get the feeling you aren't just a driver—uh, if...you don't mind me saying so."

"No. I'm an inspector—an inspector that Takahashi _pulled away _from a case to come pick you up."

"A-ah."

"See what I mean? Look, I get it: the SID is Shibungi's baby, and now another guy's got to figure out what to do with it. But this goes beyond that. Either you guys are better than the force hears about or there's going to be trouble."

"What...do you mean?"

The inspector pulled around a corner and into another apartment complex not far from my own.

"I _mean_: make this worth my while. Find something, figure something out that we missed—I don't care. Just don't tell me that Takahashi sent me out in the rain to get you for nothing."

"A-ah. Understood."

The car came to a slow halt just outside a boundary of holographic police lines.

"This is it."

I looked out the window at the apartments looming overhead against the dark gray sky. Something was familiar about them. No, not just familiar—I'd _been _here before. My heart leaped.

"Tsukishima...Arugo!?"

"That's the half of it, anyway."

"What do you mean 'half'?"

The detective looked genuinely surprised.

"You mean you didn't see it?"

"See what?"

"That new video that's infecting the web like a virus."

I cursed myself for not watching it.

"Who are the victims? Tell me!"

He jerked his head towards the apartments, and we stepped out of the car together.

"You named the first yourself," he said as we walked. "Tsukishima Arugo, the president's favored personal guard."

"What have you found so far?"

"Come in and I'll show you."

Police were everywhere in and out of the complex, scouring every inch of the crime scene for the tiniest of evidences left behind. The door to Arugo's apartment was hanging open normally—no signs of abuse whatsoever. It was probably a hack, but that didn't bode well for us. If these apartment's locks were up to spec, hacking them couldn't have been an easy feat. Then again, we'd already witnessed firsthand what the terrorists could do at the Rooks' headquarters.

The inspector and I carefully stepped over and around everyone's work as he led me inside and around a corner. Unlike Yahiro's case, most of Arugo's things were in order, aside from small messes that could potentially have been created by Arugo himself. But one thing was definitely the same. It struck me like a nightmare given life. There on the bedroom wall, carved in large, rough English letters, was the same message as always:

"REBORN ~F.P."

"Any idea what it means?" the detective asked. "You and Tsukishima were acquaintances, correct?"

"Yeah...the message definitely wasn't meant to be understandable among friends, though. Have we made any progress on the initials?"

"Well I can't speak for the SID of course, but I'd imagine they're in pretty much the same boat."

"No leads then, I take it."

"Plenty, if you count petty criminals that we've documented _very _carefully. There's no way any of them are involved. We've checked, trust me. Domestically, at least. Foreign affairs are your department, not ours."

I walked over to the letters in the wall and leaned in to get a closer look. To my eyes there was nothing remarkable about the figures...except for one thing.

"Has anyone considered the time it must take to leave behind this message?" I asked.

"It's a hasty job," the inspector shrugged.

"A-ah, but still, we're talking a full minute of just standing here, if he's fast. What about the victims while the perpetrator leaves his mark? Does he tie them up? Does he kill them? What about security footage?"

"Naturally that's one of the first things we've checked, as I'm sure the SID does, too. Story's always the same: nothing shows up."

"And at the Rooks—er, SID—the power was out."

"Mmm. I think its safe to say our suspect knows how to make himself invisible when he wants to. But this time there's more."

"More?"

"Unfortunately. And this is nothing compared to upstairs."

I remembered then that there was a second victim.

"What's...upstairs?" I hated to ask.

The inspector narrows his eyes.

"Katsumi Aki's apartment."

Katsumi Aki: formerly with the UN, she and Arugo met during the assault on Da'ath headquarters in Shanghai. Their relationship escalated and before long she quit the UN to live in Japan and work for Shibungi alongside Arugo.

"Show me."

I followed him outside and up the stairs, expecting another Yahiro case. But what I found was far more than just a trashed apartment. The front door was torn open like it had been kicked in, and several of Katsumi's belongings and pieces of furniture were torn or damaged. A collection of holes filled one place on the wall. It looked like there had been a fight. But if that was true, the victor was clearly not Aki. A pool of red stains was splattered and smeared along the floor, and as my eyes followed the trail, eventually I located the unfortunate source: Katsumi Aki herself, laying lifeless on the floor beneath a white covering over her face and body.

"We...waited in case you wanted to confirm the victim," the detective explained.

Did I? Yes and no. But out of respect for the police department's consideration of me I accepted the chance regardless of personal feelings. My heart pounded as I carefully drew back the cover. It was Katsumi alright, face frozen in a troubled, pained expression.

"Oh, Arugo..._gomen_. _Gomenesai_."_ I'm so sorry._

A cool breeze swept through the apartment, sending a chill running down my spine. I covered the body back up and looked in the direction of the draft. There was a window with several holes in it right across from the holes in the wall, and about the same size. _Bullet _holes, clearly coming from the outside and going in.

"Sniper fire?" I confirmed.

"We've yet to analyze the bullets we found embedded in the wall, but yes."

"How many samples do you have? If possible, I'd like to take one to the SID. If we can determine the gun that was used, it may help us narrow down which 'F.P.' is the one we're looking for. Licenses or black market trade records—things like that."

"We can arrange it."

"Also, I want clones of any comm devices you've found sent to the SID right away. Consider any warrants you need granted."

The inspector's eyebrows shot up.

"Well, you do know how to get things done, I'll give you that much."

"Just making it worth your while, Inspector."

"Mmm," he smiled.

"By the way," I started hesitantly, "we...wouldn't happen to have seen each other before...have we?"

The inspector studied me a bit, then relaxed and pushed up his glasses.

"No," he concluded. "No, truthfully I can say this is the first time we've met. Now, if I have shown you the scene to your satisfaction, you will excuse me for leaving us both to do our work."

"Right. Thank you, Inspector."

My escort departed and I took a minute to gather my thoughts even as a couple men came in to gather Katsumi's body and take her away. It wasn't the first time I saw a dead body on the job, but I certainly never got used to it. There's just no closure to murder. It felt like I should say something, give some final parting words, but besides the fact that it would seem strange I had no idea how to filter my thoughts into what to say or what not to say. Even though I wasn't very close with Katsumi personally, I still ached inside watching her disappear around the corner, never to return. How would I feel if that was Inori? That's how I felt for Arugo. He was a hard worker with few joys in the world. Katsumi was one of them, if not the only one. And now even that was stripped away from him—assuming he hadn't yet suffered the same fate. If there was one good thing about this case, it was that it suggested the missing bodies were still alive, at least for the time being. Inspired by this one faint glimmer of hope in a world of darkness, I took out my comm device and started taking notes.

"Think, Shu: what can we tell from all this?"

I walked over to the broken window and examined the bullet holes.

"Well, this confirms that multiple people are involved, I guess. Can't really carve a message in the wall with a rifle. Right—the message."

Although I had no reason to doubt its presence, for the sake of prudence I went into Katsumi's bedroom to look for the criminals' trademark and see what else I could find among her belongings. Except...it wasn't there. That wasn't too perturbing—we only had two regular cases to consider a pattern—but then I checked the other bedroom, the main room again, even the kitchen, and the infamous 'F.P.' was nowhere to be found. Maybe the mark left in Arugo's place counted for both. But if it didn't...well, I couldn't imagine what that might mean. But Arugo merely disappeared and had a message left behind, and Katsumi was unmistakably murdered with no message. And now that I thought about it, there weren't any bullet holes in Arugo's walls or windows, nor had there been at Rook HQ or Yahiro's. Really, Katsumi's case was unique in every way. The timing was way beyond coincidence, but this case had all the markings of a second suspect. Still, that was a big theory to bet on. I needed more confirmation.

_"Of course! The video!"_

I found a place out of all the other investigators' way and called up the latest recording of our shadow man on my phone. I tensed a bit, anxious over what it might contain.

"Greetings, people of Japan," said the same robotic voice as before. "Welcome to Day Three. I'm sure you have not forgotten. Was our last selection a surprise to you? It should not be. Those who respond to unforeseen circumstances with cowardice and fear only demonstrate themselves to be unfit for the next world. However, it is not too late for some of you: embrace our refining fire, and you may yet have a place in it. But also know that those who kick against the will of natural selection, bold and courageous though they may be, provide only for selection to be brought upon themselves. Will they pass the test? Only time will tell.

"Our next selection is such a person. Katsumi Aki: former UN lieutenant turned secret service. She played a critical role in the downfall of Da'ath, and thus she must be tested. The six days are halfway done. Prepare yourselves for the new world...or be selected out."

And just like before, a shadowy arm reached up to shut off the camera and the video ended. I slumped back against the wall and slid down until I was sitting on the floor. The video only called for Aki. Aki—the unique case, not the one that lined up with the suspect's known MO. Arugo wasn't mentioned anywhere. Then again, Shibungi caught us off guard, too. The criminals had already established a record of not always foretelling their targets. Arugo could be explained. But if Aki was the main target, why was her case so different? The multiple suspects theory went out the window, so what was left? Could this be one possible result of the criminals' 'selection'? Was Katsumi 'selected out' and the others 'selected in'? No, that couldn't be. The first video explicitly said Yahiro was 'selected out' and yet his case was like all the others, not Aki's. And if all that wasn't bad enough, the pressure of making sense of this mess just got worse every time the sixth day 'judgment' came up. At first I don't think anyone really believed we had to solve the case in that period of time, but now I wasn't so sure. The enemy remained an unknown, and so long as they were unknown they were in theory capable of anything. For the first time I actually felt afraid at their warnings.

I couldn't take it anymore. Just when I thought I was getting somewhere, I hit the same dead end as before. People were disappearing—dying—and I was powerless to stop it. The deeper into the puzzle I got, the more complex it became, not simpler. It was all I could do not to throw my phone across the room. Actually, since the apartment was already trashed I seriously considered it, but just when the idea was about to take root in my intentions the device started buzzing in my hand. I didn't answer right away. The display indicated it was Tsugumi, probably calling about more details of the case—the last thing my mind felt it could handle at the moment. Still, it would be selfish and irresponsible to ignore her, so I stood up, took a deep breath, and popped the comm device open.

"Shu," she started, sounding rushed. "Any luck?"

"Yes," I replied. "Bad luck. Katsumi Aki is dead, and Arugo's missing."

"I know. My team just finished decrypting the data the police department forwarded to us at your request."

"Already?"

"Look who you're talking to! Anyway, Aki-san's phone was clean, but Arugo's had the same kind of message Yahiro's did."

"Did you get anything new out of it?"

"Nothing. Arugo picked up before the caller said anything really juicy."

"Just like Yahiro..."

"Yep. Anyway, just thought you should know."

"Understood. How goes the search for F.P.?"

"Takahashi-san got us some foreign databases to look through, but even I'm just taking shots in the dark at this point. At our best it'll take us another week to sift through it all. Anything you can find to help narrow down the search would be _kakkoii_."

"What about imprinting the voicemails?"

"Non-matches, both of them. Hey," she dropped her voice to a low whisper, "I wouldn't say this to Takahashi, but...I really don't think we're going to find F.P. this way. I mean, not to be glum, but we need a different strategy."

"Like what?"

"I know, right? The only people that have actually made contact with him have disappeared."

"A-ah..."

I was at a loss for words. There was an awkward pause, then Tsugumi figured it was time to end the conversation so we could both get back to work.

"Well...keep trying, ok? Laters!"

A beep sounded on the other end and she hung up.

"Yeah...keep trying."

And indeed we did try. All day long, from morning till night we inspected, we investigated, we analyzed, we theorized, but despite the best efforts of the combined forces of police and Rooks we ultimately were little closer to identifying the suspect than when we began. If anything it felt like we knew even less. The perpetrators didn't even have a consistent MO anymore. We were missing something critical, and I tormented myself over it, constantly racking my brain to figure out what it was or even just figure out _how_ to figure out what it was. But once again I worked late into the evening and at the end of the day turned up basically empty-handed. Takahashi finally let everyone go when it was dark, but even tired as we were, going home just felt wrong. While a group of people somewhere out there plotted to take their next victim, those whose job it was to stop it were turning in for a night's sleep. Sure, we needed the rest to do that job well, but I still hated it. All I could think about on the walk home was how little time we had left: three days—no, two, really. We couldn't afford to push our luck down to the last minute. We had two days. How many of those precious hours would be spent in inactivity? Why couldn't I just...not sleep? What a limitation. I needed to do more, _be_ more. Why couldn't I just be...more than human?

_ "Whenever you're feeling lost inside, just remember me, ok?"_

Inori's words echoed in my mind as I entered our apartment building elevator and made my way up to our place. I carefully opened the door with my false hand trying not to make too much noise. Even if I was restless that shouldn't mean Hare and Inori had to be awake, too. If those two could sleep somewhat easily, then that was one thing I hadn't failed at. To have them safe and sound—that was my ultimate job.

But then..._someone_ was certainly still awake. A solitary light was on in the main room of our apartment when I stepped inside, though all was still and silent. I took a step closer, and then something stirred on the other side of the sofa. Inori sat up and turned around to confirm that I was home. She must've been waiting up for me and fell asleep.

"_Okaeri_," she mumbled drowsily, rubbing her eyes. _Welcome home._

"Sorry I'm late."

"It's fine," she shook her head. "Sit with me for a minute?"

I set my things down and joined Inori on the couch.

"You didn't have to stay up for me, you know. I didn't mean for—"

"Shh."

Inori placed a finger over my lips to stop me talking, then slowly pulled it back, leaned over, and planted a kiss on them in its place. Her soft, silky hair slid between my fingers as I caressed her in return.

"You're moving too fast, Shu. Slow down for a little while."

I could hardly believe my ears.

"Too fast? We can't move fast _enough_!"

"Hmm-mm," she disagreed, drawing back a bit. "How do you know where the world is taking you if you don't watch where you're going?"

"What do you mean?"

"You are your only landmark in the world, Shu. The world around us never stops moving, and the only way to know which way it's heading is to have something motionless to compare it to. That something is yourself. And if you go too fast, you'll miss it. You'll lose yourself."

To tell the truth, I was a bit taken aback by Inori's concern. But I needed only remember what happened at Tennouzu High to know she was right. I had a tendency to overextend myself, and when that happened, things never turned out well.

"Don't worry," I took Inori's hands in mine. "Nothing's going to happen to me. I have you, after all."

I looked down at our hands, one of each being a prosthetic, and remembered all the difficulties we'd been through together. We literally would not have survived without each other, and in the calmer last few years we were always balancing each other out, keeping each other in check, and pushing each other forward.

"Mmm," Inori nodded. "I'll always be a landmark for you, too. But..."

She gently pulled her hands away, and her face turned gravely serious.

"But...what?" I prodded.

Inori turned around and fiddled with something on the other end of the couch, then turned back to face me, holding out a cat's cradle tied between her fingers. I shuddered at the symbol.

"Inori, what's this?"

"Take it. Let me entwine my fate with yours."

"Inori," I grew a little desperate, "our fates already _are _entwined. You are everything to me. I will love you and be by your side forever! Just like we promised."

"Then what are you afraid of? Take it. Take it...and let me help you. Let me join the Rooks."

"But...Hare..."

Inori shook her head to stop me before I could make my argument again.

"Shu, you work so hard to protect her. But you're never _there _for her when you're like this. Whatever life you want for Hare, what Hare wants is _you_."

Tears clouded my vision. In barely a minute Inori had found the key to unlocking all the pent up emotions inside me.

"Inori..." my voice trembled.

"Shu, let me share your burdens. Let me, so that one day soon we can enjoy Hare together! I've always shared your burdens, haven't I? Why not now? Shu..._onegai_." _Please_.

I needed to stand up. Something in me had to get out, and sitting still wouldn't do it. I sprang off the couch and walked over to the window, considering her offer, the occasional tear slipping out and running down my cheeks. It was true I couldn't do this alone. I needed Inori now more than ever. Were the past couple of days a waste because I kept turning her down? Was it selfish of me _not _to let her join the Rooks? Would she prove to be the key to solving the case, and by continually denying her I was needlessly putting other lives at stake? Even these questions were too much for me to think about. I needed Inori with me even to be able to face the question of if I should let her be with me. But then...that in itself settled it, didn't it?

Inori stood up and joined me by the window, cat's cradle still in hand, saying nothing.

"Tomorrow," I sniffed.

"E-eh?"

"Tomorrow. I'll work it out with Takahashi to get you in. If he wants references, there's plenty of people around the Rooks that will vouch for you. If you help us—help us end this—then..."

She came closer until I could feel her breath against me.

"Then we'll come home to Hare...together."

I turned around and looked into Inori's sparkling eyes, falling in love all over again. How far we'd come, this girl and I. When we first met Inori was merely the shell of another human being. But now she was completely her own, mature, and more adorable to me than ever before. I reached out to take her hands again, slipping the cat's cradle over my fingers even as they intertwined with hers. Inori's face softened into a sad smile.

"_Arigatou..._Shu."

We leaned in together and kissed again.

"Come on," I coaxed gently. "It's late."

"Mmm."

Inori turned off the light and together we headed towards our bedroom. But I didn't go in straight away. No, I wouldn't be able to rest until I'd taken care of one more thing for the day. I stopped by Hare's room and carefully opened the door without making a sound. At the intrusion our 'pet' AI assistant, Fyu-Neru, gave me a little scowl from atop Hare's dresser. I patted the robot on the head as I walked by and he immediately perked up.

"Just give me a minute," I whispered in the dark.

I just needed to see her. To watch her sleep, to hear her soft breathing, rising, falling. Little Hare lay in her bed completely oblivious to my presence, but that was alright. Somehow just seeing her there put the rest of the world into perspective. I crouched down and gently stroked the girl's hair a bit.

"Never let her out of your sight, Fyu-Neru," I said. "She's worth more to me than anything in the whole wide world."

The robot gave me a firm salute.

"I knew I could count on you."

Hare stretched in her bed, yawned, and rolled over without waking up. Satisfied, I stood up to go catch some sleep myself while I still could. Inori was right. _This_ was the sort of moment I needed to slow down for.

"_Oyasumi, _Hare." _Goodnight._

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes: Sorry this one took so long for me to get out. I had a bad case of writer's block early on that really slammed on my brakes. Most of what you see above was done pretty quickly in just a few days, so yeah, I was out for quite some while. I hope this chapter was worth the wait-I know it may <em>look _like not much happened, or that it was very Guilty Crown-like, but trust me, it will all make sense in due time ;) Very soon, in fact. But! I can't say more. _

_Also, I hope this doesn't mess up anyone's links, but you may or may not have noticed that the title of this fanfic has changed from "Guilty Crown AFT3RM4TH: Final Agent" to "Guilty Crown AFT3RM4TH: Last Agent". Before I published the first chapter of the fanfic I debated which word to use and thought I'd settled on 'last', but just the other day it occurred to me that for some reason I put 'final' in the title even though everywhere else I was using 'last' instead. Woops! All fixed now though, and I assume fanfiction|net is smart enough to keep everyone's subscriptions running despite the change. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and thanks as always for reading!_


	5. Phase 24-4

**Phase 24.4**

_Day 04, 2049 A.D._

The streets were oddly empty as Inori, Hare, and I got off the subway and walked up and out into the city. Not completely deserted, but noticeably less crowded than usual. With all the disappearances and now one confirmed murder people just weren't as eager to get out, and those who did hurried along either looking scared or scowling or just being completely indifferent to the whole thing, too wrapped up in their own problems to consider the country's greater struggles. The tension in the air was palpable, so much so that little Hare even clearly felt it without fully understanding what was going on. In her world the worst thing that happened was being told she wouldn't get to stay home with her mother for a while and would instead have to spend the days with Haruka until Inori and I got home from work in the evenings. Today my stepmother was waiting for us just outside the subway.

"_Ohayo_!" she greeted at a distance, smiling and waving like nothing was wrong in the world.

"Come on, Hare, say hello."

She whimpered and clung to Inori's leg.

"It's alright," Haruka said as we finally drew near. Then, crouching down to Hare's level, "but you and I are going to have fun today, right?"

Hare buried her face in Inori's side.

"Hare," Inori took our daughter's hand and gently pried her off. I could tell it was hard for her to do it, but we didn't have time to spare. So far no new video had been posted online, and while we'd mostly already worked out Inori joining the Rooks there was still a bit left for us to take care of in person at headquarters. We needed to be there and be ready the very instant there was a new development, and in the meantime put our all into solving the mysteries of past cases...even though deep down we knew that wasn't going to happen. We would strain and strain at divining some kind of useful information out of what we had, but the enemy would continue being one step ahead of us. Disaster was going to happen. There was no doubt about it in my mind. We just had to try and respond as quickly as possible—quicker than ever before—so we could catch the perpetrators in the act. We needed to get moving.

"It's alright, Hare," I encouraged. "We'll be back to pick you up before you know it."

"But..."

"No 'buts'. Be good for Haruka, ok?"

"Don't worry," my stepmother smiled, taking Hare by the hand. "We'll be fine. You two go on."

"Are you sure you're alright with this, Haruka?" Inori asked. "Not just Hare. You've done things—worked with Sephira Genomics, GHQ...are you sure you're alright with being tied down?"

Haruka dismissed the idea without hesitation, shaking her head.

"No, no, that's long behind me, now. The world wouldn't want my help. Not that I blame them. I have to atone for my past, yes, and this is how I want to do it: first by taking care of you, Shu, when you had your blindness, and now Hare. I've done much to harm my family. I'd rather do nothing else now than make up for that."

Her eyes drifted towards the pavement as she finished. I could see Haruka felt deeply about this.

"Ah, but listen to me chatter! Come on, Hare! Time to go!"

_ "A-a-and she's back to normal again..." _

We took turns saying our goodbyes, and then Inori and I headed back into the subway to complete the trip to SID headquarters. It was harder than I thought it would be to leave Hare in the care of someone else, but I didn't regret finally giving in to Inori's pleadings to join the Rooks. It was difficult, but for the best, as the best decisions sometimes are. The rest of the ride was much quieter than the first leg, though.

When we arrived, Inori was rushed through the initiation process faster than anyone I'd ever seen before. Even Takahashi had to acknowledge her status as key figure in the defeat of Da'ath and GHQ, and her physical abilities were easy enough to demonstrate, too. Protocol required she go through basic weapons training and an exam, but both lasted barely ten minutes altogether before she was sent out of the armory, looking bored. Needless to say, Inori passed every test thrown at her with flying colors, and she was sent to work on the same floor as mine before morning had even faded into afternoon. She was an instant legend.

"So this is where they have you work?" she asked, looking around her office, which was an exact copy of my own.

"Not what you were expecting?"

Inori ran a hand along her desk as if feeling for the right words to explain.

"It's too...closed. Everyone's put away in their own little compartments where they only get to do one thing by themselves. I hate that."

"Well, it might seem like we're alone, but everyone's constantly communicating with each other. You'll see."

"Inoreen!"

We turned around to see Tsugumi and Ayase hurrying up to welcome Inori. Tsugumi gave her a quick hug.

"It'll be just like old times having you around, eh?"

"Hmm..."

It wasn't exactly a yes or a no, but I could see in Inori's face that she doubted it.

"How are you settling in?" Ayase asked, perhaps noticing the same thing.

She didn't answer directly.

"Ayase, how long has it been since you last piloted an Endlave?"

"E-eh?"

"How long has it been?"

"Well...on a mission, not since the assault on Shanghai six years ago. But I've trained other pilots, and sometimes they let me get in a little target practice when we've got some downtime."

"And Tsugumi is your wingman?"

"Well...no. It's not really necessary since it's just practice."

"Mmm. Then I was right."

"Inoreen?" Tsugumi looked puzzled. "What are you getting at?"

"I'm here to help Shu. To help everyone. But," she shook her head, "this place will never be like old times. Don't forget who you are."

_"Who we are?"_

Inori's reaction to the Rooks wasn't what I expected at all. Suddenly she felt very much like an outsider, not just a belated member of the team. But that's not to say I didn't take her opinion seriously. Just the opposite, in fact. Maybe the past several years _had _sort of lulled us into complacency. Maybe we couldn't solve the case because we'd lost something of what made us successful in the past. And maybe—just maybe—with Inori here to keep us in line, we'd rediscover whatever it was we were missing. But...what was it, exactly?

"Attention all SID personnel. Attention all SID personnel," the PA system sounded off around the whole building. "Please report to the conference room immediately. Mandatory meeting is in session. Repeat: all SID personnel, please report to the conference room immediately. Mandatory meeting is in session."

"Huh, 'wonder what that's all about," Tsugumi thought aloud.

I had a feeling I knew. And if I was right, it wasn't good news. We wasted no time in obeying the PA system's command, and the entirety of Rook forces assembled in our huge, auditorium-like conference room in record time. President Takahashi himself stood in front at the podium just like Shibungi used to, only contrary to the former president's perpetually calm and collected demeanor, Takahashi exuded tension and determination. His hard, graying face looked dead set on getting a job done, but I wondered how things would work out if his methods differed too severely from Shibungi's—and they almost certainly would.

"Everyone, please be seated," he hurried us along. The last few agents pushed into the room and settled in, then Takahashi wasted no time in getting to the heart of the matter. "I know what you're all thinking: that I summoned you here because there's been another victim. That is not the case."

I breathed a silent sigh of relief. Several others did, too.

"Thus far to have such a pause between cases is unprecedented. We may not know the plans and intentions of the enemy, but they have given us an opportunity to anticipate them. How we use it will directly affect the outcome of the next case, whenever it may occur and whatever it may be."

Nods around the room. Takahashi replied with a nod of his own, then stepped aside from the podium and brought the giant screen behind him to life, displaying a grid of profiles covering recognizable names and faces from all over the country.

"What you see here is a list of the top 500 most likely victims in all of Japan. But considering the previous attacks have been local to this area and targeted individuals who had some connection to the Da'ath and GHQ of ten years ago, we can narrow down the group to roughly 100."

At the press of a button the grid rearranged itself and shrank to display only these specific people.

"We must be prepared to defend any one of these citizens at any time. I've already assigned the police department with contacting and warning them that they are potentially under threat and will be assigned a personal guard until they can be considered secure. But because this will put a strain on the PD, the SID will be helping them out. Of these 100, the top 50 will be assigned guards from among your ranks to keep watch in person. The less likely 50 will be watched remotely. Remember: our ultimate goal is not the protection of civilians, important though that may be. We _must_ catch our suspects in the act and get on their trail at all costs, else _all _of our lives are in danger."

Takahashi narrowed his eyes, bracing himself for our reaction to what he was about to say.

"Be prepared to sacrifice the few for the good of the many."

Suddenly the faces on the screen took on a new light. Smiling faces, serious faces, emotions, stories, lives—people. Real people. People that we were supposed to just abandon if need be to achieve our goals. I understood where Takahashi was coming from, but I could never think of these human beings as throwaway bait.

"Shu! Look!" Inori whispered loudly at my side.

She could only point discretely, so it took me a while to figure out what she was going on about. But then a few of the portraits on the display caught my eye. Not everyone in the list was just a civilian. Ayase, Tsugumi, Inori..._me_—we were all there. It wasn't so surprising to think we might be targets, but unnerving to think that we might be factored in to Takahashi's 'sacrifice' too. That only made the reality of the other lives that much more real to me, and that much harder to consider abandoning. I prayed I'd never have to face the decision.

"As some of you may have noticed," Takahashi continued, "there are some...familiar faces in this list. As the SID was founded as a weapon against Da'ath, there are several members still on-board that will be naturally high targets. If that includes you, then until we have determined the terrorists' intentions you absolutely may _not_ leave the station without my explicit permission. It is imperative that we safeguard our own people first and foremo—"

His lips kept moving, but all of a sudden barely any sound penetrated the room. Everyone sitting in the audience looked around at each other as if making sure the problem wasn't just imaginary. Takahashi's microphone had stopped working, clearly, but it was unusual for the Rooks to have such basic technical difficulties.

And as it turned out...this wasn't a basic technical difficulty.

Takahashi startled as the screen behind him squealed, flickered, and jumped from the grid of faces to a video of just one face—an obscured, shadowy one with only a generic concrete background in full light behind. It was a different location than either of the last two, but equally as meaningless.

"_Uso_!" shouted someone in the crowd. _No way!_

Everyone else would've echoed the same expression if we weren't stunned speechless. There was no doubt about it: the shadow man had returned just before we could get on with Takahashi's task of safeguarding the most likely victims, probably to announce that a new life had already been taken. And this time it was no mere internet post. This was a hack, an infiltration into the Special Intelligence Division, the most advanced establishment in Japan. No matter what we did, the enemy was always one step ahead of us. It was like they knew—they _knew_.

_"They knew..."_

The idea resonated in my head with heart-stopping force. Was there a traitor in our midst? A mole leaking out information, coordinating with the enemy? I didn't want to believe they were that well organized or that deeply implanted, but it made sense...and absolutely terrified me. But this fear was nothing compared to that which struck my very soul as the shadow man started delivering his message in that deep, synthetic voice of his.

"Greetings, people of Japan, and fear not: I come bringing good news. In case you have forgotten, it is now Day Four. Japan's—no, the _world's—_simultaneous selection draws nigh. But there is no storm without a calm as its herald. Though the fittest need not fear their judgment, for all the rest, consider the next 24 hours your respite—a parting gift from us to you. Until Day Six, you will not hear from us again. Our immediate task is completed: we have established the inevitability of our success and secured the Key to Pandora's Box. Now we must tend to other matters, but see that you do not forget us again. Though we are silent, we are ever among you, ever in your presence. Watching. Waiting."

The shadow shifted and reached out a hand to shut off the camera as usual. But then it paused.

"But the day is not over yet," the machine voice continued. "I'm sure you must be eager to learn of our next selection: Ouma Hare...Key to Pandora's Box."

"Hare!" I shouted, forgetting about everyone else in the room.

"The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place," the video continued. I didn't hear.

_"__Hare..."_

Hare? Our Hare? What did they want with her? It didn't seem real, and yet, all too real. But I didn't stop to question whether I was dreaming. Before the video even had a chance to finish I shot up and ran out of the conference room.

"Shu!" Ayase called after me. "We're not supposed to leave without permission!"

Oh, I knew. I knew Takahashi had ordered us to stay put only minutes ago, but I didn't care. I didn't care that I hadn't gotten permission to use one of the Rooks' vehicles, either. Down the stairs to the parking garage I flew faster than I ever knew my legs could carry me, and the very moment my feet hit the concrete garage floor I picked the nearest armored car and swiped my ID card by the lock to authorize myself to use it. It beeped confirmation and I jumped inside and slammed the door shut behind me. Then the sound repeated in my other ear for some reason, and when I turned to look Inori was buckling herself into the passenger seat.

"Inori, no! It might be dangero—"

"I'm coming, and that's that!"

There wasn't time to argue, and of course I understood how she felt. So I gritted my teeth and started up the car with the pedal already floored, shooting us out of the garage at full speed. Safety and traffic laws meant nothing to me. All I cared about was getting to Haruka's place as fast as humanly possible—preferably faster. Forget the consequences—I'd deal with them later.

The streets were a mess of angry honks and scared drivers as Inori and I blazed in and out of traffic, barreling towards our destination. There were several close calls, but somehow I avoided ramming us in to anyone. That would've slowed us down, and I couldn't allow that. My mind hadn't even caught up with my actions yet, but still I knew—no, I _decided_ nothing would stop me from reaching Hare. Losing old friends was difficult enough. Losing Hare was unthinkable.

"Shu!"

The light up ahead turned red, but I had no intention of stopping. While steering with one hand I reached over and grasped at the dashboard controls until I found the traffic light override. The light obediently switched to our favor, but I didn't give the other drivers nearly enough warning. A few cars were already crossing the intersection when Inori and I reached it ourselves.

"Hang on to something!"

Back and forth I veered, nearly tipping us over at least twice. Horns honked in every direction, adding distraction to the already tense situation. We didn't manage the last turn quite fast enough and grazed a civilian as we brushed by, but the damage wasn't significant, so I kept right on moving. Thought for sure Inori would scold me for it, too, but instead she barely made a sound.

"Sorry, Inori!" I apologized.

"E-eh? For what?"

Suddenly we hit a bump in the road and the entire car rocked so hard it nearly went airborne.

"Well, it'll be a miracle if this isn't your _last _day on the job, now!"

"I don't care. Just get us to Hare!"

"Almost there!"

In fact, our turn came up much quicker than I was expecting. Thinking fast, I floored the brakes and shoved the steering wheel in the opposite direction I wanted to turn. The car fishtailed a bit and then spun hard right, hurling us straight into a parking lot with a screech and a cloud of thick, gray dust. The apartment complex _looked _calm enough from the outside, but I didn't relax just yet. Not in the slightest. I drove us up as close to Haruka's building as possible and then abandoned the car without even properly putting it in park, Inori right on my heels. Together we flew up the stairs faster than any elevator could carry us and I broke clean through the lock on Haruka's front door with a single kick.

And then we stood absolutely still. Frozen. Unable to move a muscle. I felt Inori's one real hand go cold as she held on tightly to my arm, her false hand covering her mouth in shock, struggling and failing to hold back tears. No matter how fast we were, it wasn't nearly fast enough. We were completely and totally alone. Both Hare and Haruka were gone.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes: Well, I didn't originally plan on splitting Day 4 up into multiple chapters, but in the end I realized it was best for the story that I do. There's a lot still to happen, and I didn't want to rush it all to fit it in one chapter, so in the end I decided to cut this one a little short. That, and doing things this way made for a delightful little cliffhanger ending to torment everyone while I work on Day 4 Part 2 ;)<em>

_Thanks as always for reading, and stay tuned!_


	6. Phase 24-5

**Phase 24.5**

_Day 04, 2049 A.D._

Haruka's apartment was a wreck—far worse than the others. And while there were no bodies to be found, neither was the familiar calling card, meaning this was yet another unique case in some ways. Before we'd seen missing bodies with "REBORN ~F.P." marked on the wall, and once a dead body with no mark. But now we had no mark _and _missing bodies. And once again there were two victims when only one was named by the terrorists themselves. While Haruka wasn't even on Takahashi's list of likely targets her past made her an obvious enough choice...but Hare? This 'Key to Pandora's Box'? When our enemies started putting videos online, it looked like they were boldly revealing information about themselves to the public. Now I saw why they felt comfortable doing it. They established only a loose pattern. The details never stayed the same for long, and only got more and more complicated and confusing with time. If we weren't so desperate for answers, who knows but that Inori and I would've been immediately dismissed from the Rooks—or worse—after our little escapade disobeying direct orders and breaking the law left and right. In the end we just got a good scolding from Takahashi over the phone and then sent straight to work looking through my stepmother's home for any kind of clues—a merciful decision, yet one clearly only made because Inori and I benefited the team too much to be fired over such relatively minor infractions. That, and getting rid of us would surely severely harm Takahashi's reputation among the other Rooks. Not that it mattered. I already felt sick inside over Hare's disappearance. For the time being adrenaline kept me sane, but if push came to shove I'd eagerly do it all again.

"Shu? Shu!"

Inori tapped me on the shoulder.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. What is it?"

"You...might want to see this."

My heart skipped a beat.

"What is it?"

She waved a hand for me to follow, and together we went into Haruka's bedroom, where her main computer was rigged with a cracking device to let us look through her files. We weren't able to find any kind of communication device this time, so we thought her computer might be the next best thing. Looked like our hopes were well-placed. An SID agent was sitting at the computer when Inori and I came in. He was visibly concerned.

"Your stepmother had some interesting hobbies, Ouma Shu," he said.

"What do you mean?"

I leaned over his shoulder to take a look at the display for myself.

"Several of her files were accessed right before the disappearance. Check out these timestamps. They had to be knocking on her door by that point. But what's more interesting is what's _in_ these documents."

The technician opened up a few and scanned through them for me.

"Genomic research...wait, my _father's _genomic research!?"

I couldn't believe my eyes.

"What was she doing with this?"

"That's what we'd like to know. This sort of information should never have stayed private property."

Haruka's words from earlier that morning suddenly echoed a bit hollow in my mind.

_"What was that about atoning for the past, _Kaa-san_?"_

I didn't want to believe that all this time she was hiding something so dangerous from me, harboring some kind of academic fascination that might compel her to continue what my father started. After all we'd been through, after she watched countless lives be destroyed, not to mention my own suffering over this data, how could she possibly do something like this?

"If you're trying to be Ouma Kurosu," I muttered too quietly for anyone to hear, "you should know by now that doesn't pay."

"Shu?"

I didn't repeat myself for Inori.

"Shu!"

This time she sounded scared. Maybe I misinterpreted the first time she said my name.

"Shu, look!"

I turned around and immediately figured out what had her going. Just outside the bedroom, a pile of rubble in the corner had started...well, _moving_.

"Men! Get ready!" an SID agent shouted, gathering several people around the mess, pistols drawn and cocked. Inori and I joined them at a short distance behind. The mound quivered and shifted, shaking loose the top layer of Haruka's broken personal belongings. Then there was a brief pause, and all of a sudden the debris burst like a firework and out popped a damaged and very dirty but still functioning Fyu-Neru!

"Wait! Hold your fire!" I shouted just in the nick of time.

"Fyu-Neru!" Inori exclaimed.

The gunmen looked puzzled.

"Friend of yours?" one of them asked.

Friend? Usually we thought of him more as 'pet', but I almost could've hugged the robot right about then.

"I told him never to let Hare out of his sight," I explained. "I guess he took me literally and followed her here."

Fyu-Neru excitedly gestured affirmation. Inori's eyes lit up.

"Fyu-Neru, can you tell us what happened?"

The robot looked around nervously at the guns still pointing at him.

"Well, put those things away, already!" I ordered. I was eager to learn the answer to Inori's question, too.

One of the agents gave the rest a nod and they complied.

"Do you know something, Fyu-Neru?" I asked.

He waved his hands around and pointed, whirring and whining so much I could tell _something _dramatic took place, but what exactly was anyone's guess. That is, until the robot finished telling things from his perspective and popped open a holographic display playing back a video log of the event. As the camera was Fyu-Neru himself on the floor it was a bit hard to see what was going on, but it was clearly Hare and Haruka on the screen at first. All eyes fixed on the little display and we gathered in closer to watch.

"Greetings, Ouma Haruka," said the same natural human voice as I previously found on Yahiro's phone, and Tsugumi found again on Arugo's.

"E-eh? Who are you? H-how did you get in here?" Haruka turned, shocked.

Another pair of legs entered the scene, dressed in all black.

"Mmm, how convenient," the intruder continued without answering.

"W-what do you want? Oh, Hare! Stay close!"

Haruka grabbed onto Hare and shoved her behind her back. The intruder made a sound like a smirk and stepped closer. Meanwhile the camera's perspective shifted as Fyu-Neru zipped across the room to get a better view of Hare. The intruder's face was still obscured, but now we could see that there was more than one person present, all dressed identically in black. The lead man held up a hand and snapped his fingers and the others slowly spread out, surrounding Haruka.

"What do you want?" she kept asking. "Money?"

"To tell the truth, it wasn't _you _we came for at all. But we will accept fate's gift anyhow. Seize the girl. Bring the woman with us."

With that he turned his back while the other men did his dirty work. I wanted desperately to look away, but I forced myself to take in every second of watching my daughter be torn from my stepmother, kicking and screaming while Haruka did her best to fight back. But one middle-aged woman was no match for several strong men, and they quickly had her subdued and then dragged out the door. Fyu-Neru didn't settle without a fight either, though. Through the robot's own eyes we watched him sneak up behind one of the men shoving Haruka along and shoot out a grappling hook fist. The hook wrapped around the man's ankle and Fyu-Neru pulled him down, but in an instant another intruder ran up and kicked Fyu-Neru out of the way. The camera spun through the air and came to a crash-landing in the corner, knocking over a picture frame in the process. Glass shards spread out onto the floor. Fyu-Neru tried to get up again, but by that point the intruders were already making their rounds to trash the apartment, and one of them dumped a heap of debris right on his head. The screen went almost completely black, then the video ended.

Fyu-Neru shut off his display and looked up at me remorsefully.

"It's alright, you did what you could."

He nodded, but didn't look very comforted by my words. Neither were the rest of us, for that matter. Inori and I were only more disturbed than before. It all happened so fast and so effortlessly. They just showed up out of nowhere, took out their victims, and disappeared, leaving only destruction in their wake. Clearly these were professionals of some kind. But even professionals can fail to cover their tracks one hundred percent of the time. By ignoring Fyu-Neru, they'd left behind some of our greatest evidence yet.

"Shu, this is the first footage we've ever found of one of these crimes," one of the SID agents said. "We'll need to take the little guy back to HQ."

It was an officer's way of asking permission.

"Of course. He'll give us any of his memories we need."

"It's too early to say yet, but your little droid here might end up saving countless lives. This could be our big break."

Countless lives. That sounded good, but right now all I cared about was saving one life in particular. Sure, I wanted Haruka, Arugo, Yahiro, and anyone else effected by this mess to come home in one piece, but Hare came first. Maybe it was selfish of me, but I couldn't help thinking it.

"I hope you're right," I told the agent. "I really do."

* * *

><p>GC<p>

* * *

><p>Inori and I sat around Special Intelligence Division headquarters with nothing to do but wait anxiously. Most of our day was spent at Haruka's apartment, but when nothing more useful than Fyu-Neru turned up Takahashi had us come back in relatively soon. Our little droid was delivered straight to Tsugumi's team for study while Inori and I were dismissed for a meal break. Only we didn't feel like eating. All we <em>wanted<em> to do was work on Hare's case, but we weren't able to do that, either. Fyu-Neru's memories were our only real lead, and until the other Rooks had at least sorted them out there wasn't much for us to do. And so at Inori's suggestion we ended up in the armory to pass the time in the firing range. We were the only two people there. I had to admit, it felt a little good to take out some of my anger and frustration on a few targets. My aim was especially sharp at the moment, but even so it wasn't easy to keep up with Inori's pinpoint accuracy. It was both therapeutic and challenging all at once, allowing me to vent without losing energy that would be better spent on the real thing—on the terrorists themselves. Every time I looked down the barrel of a pistol, if I felt my hands start to falter I just imagined our shadow man in place of the target down the lane and suddenly my sights snapped into place. Inori and I took turns firing off single rounds and comparing results for a while, but then...something happened. Maybe the sheer monotony of target practice got to me. Maybe my imagination got a little too vivid. Maybe I had just been idling too long. Whatever the cause, out of nowhere a wave of emotion hit me like an Endlave and I just couldn't take it anymore. These disappearances, my own powerlessness to stop them, Haruka saving my father's old research—the harsh reality of it all finally sank in, and it was too much. I wanted to end it. I wanted to utterly destroy whoever or whatever it was that had taken the peace and joy we fought so hard to create. Life after GHQ hadn't been perfect, but I was happy. _Was_.

_"Give it back," _I thought to the shadow man. _"Give my life back!"_

Raging like a madman I let out a yell and fired off round after round at the farthest target in the room, alternating between its head and chest to inflict the most damage possible. I wanted it to feel all the pain I felt, and then some. Back and forth my trigger finger flexed, tugging a little harder with each pull until at last the pistol clicked dryly and the magazine was empty.

Then there was palpable silence, aside from a dull ringing in my ears. I tore off my noise-cancelling headphones and leaned against the stall, breathing heavily, furiously. Inori was stunned. She looked on motionlessly, silently worrying over my sudden outburst.

"S-Shu..."

While I kept on panting, her big eyes just stared at me, unblinking. In them I saw so many things: sadness, sympathy, worry...love. It put me to shame. Of all people in the world right now I needed to be strong for Inori first and foremost, but deep down I sure didn't feel like it. I didn't even have the strength to _try_ to be strong anymore.

"_Gomen_...Inori," I apologized just barely louder than a whisper. "I just...need a few minutes. Alone."

Out of all of our years together that was the first time I'd ever made that request. But this was different than anything I'd ever faced in the past. It wasn't that I merely wanted to face it alone, no—I needed to fume, to release, to just let out the smoldering darkness in my chest before it consumed me, and I preferred that no one see or hear it, not even Inori. I could tell she didn't want to leave, though. Actually, she looked rather astonished that I asked. Truthfully, it hurt me, too. Unable to look into those captivating eyes any longer, I diverted my gaze to the floor and waited. I sniffed nervously in the silence, the lingering smell of gunfire filling my nose. Inori didn't budge, probably deciding whether to comply or not. But after a while she took one step towards me...and paused. There was a soft rustle of hair as she took off her own headphones and set them down next to mine, soon followed by a warm sensation on my cheek. I turned just as Inori broke off her kiss and left the firing range without a single word.

_"Inori..."_

It pained me a little watching her go, but my wish was granted: I was completely alone, so there was no more need to hold it in. For the next few minutes I didn't need to filter on the outside whatever I felt on the inside. So I didn't.

_"Hare..."_

I cried. I yelled. I kicked the wall and pounded it with my fist. And when that didn't make me feel any better, I sagged down onto a bench and covered my head in my hands, cursing the terrorists all the while.

"Why can't I be more? Why?"

I grasped at my chest like I used to do to draw out Voids, physical manifestations of people's deepest hearts. But no matter how hard I tried, no light formed and I ended up only clawing at my shirt.

"Come on, _do _something! Do you hear me, Mana!?"

I stood up and thrust my hand out forward.

"Cocytus!"

No crystal spikes. No Voids. Nothing. Really I should have been grateful. Essentially it was those very things I'd risked my life to rid the world of—that _everyone_ had risked their lives for. But even knowing that, if it meant defeating my enemies now I would've taken them back on my shoulders in a heartbeat. But there were no more Voids. No more Mana. Humanity possessed no more trump cards to upset the natural order of the world, and I would be no exception, no matter how badly I wished for it.

"Hare..."

Her little face flashed through my mind—Inori's face with my hair, as I had observed at the beach only a few days ago. It struck me like a shot to the head and I staggered back down onto the bench feeling defeated.

_Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!_

_"E-eh?"_

_Buzz! Buzz!_

It was my phone. Of course I didn't feel much like answering, but if it was anyone in the SID I couldn't just ignore them. My break was probably long past being over. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the comm device with a sigh, then flicked it open. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw who it was...or rather, who it _wasn't_.

_"No way..."_

Both the name and number of the caller were completely blank. No matter how many times I blinked reality stayed the same. So it was true. The device kept vibrating in my hand while I stared at the display, jaw hanging slightly open.

_"So I'm next, huh? Wait a second!"_

An idea struck me like lightning.

_ "'The only people that have actually made contact have disappeared,'" _I recalled Tsugumi's words. _"So that means..."_

The only way for me to find out out what happened to the people who disappeared...would be to disappear, myself. I nodded gravely, my mind made up, and answered the call just before it went into voicemail.

"Hello?" I whispered.

"Ouma Shu," said the very voice I'd been chasing all week, "I had a feeling you'd answer. Listen, we don't have much time. I'm messaging coordinates to your phone. You have 30 minutes. And if you ever want to see Hare alive, I strongly suggest you come alone."

"I'll be there."

The connection was severed without another word, and not a second later the promised coordinates came through.

_"Oh, I'll be there. And when I am...you're going to answer for everything. Everything."_

* * *

><p>GC<p>

* * *

><p>The sky was pitch black when I set foot out into the night, leaving SID headquarters in secret. Off in the distance the city was still aglow with lights of its own, but there weren't any people around the outskirts.<p>

No...I knew better than that.

I pressed forward into the residential district like a wraith come to haunt its prey. Only, in reality it was I that was being haunted. I didn't take the mysterious caller entirely at his word—not for a second. Coordinates he may have given, but I was prepared for interruptions along the way. Already I felt like I was being watched. My breaths were heavy and deliberate, and I couldn't tell if my mind was in more control than ever before or teetering on the edge of insanity. It was chilly, but the palm of my one real hand sweated with trepidation.

I entered a shadowy alley and popped open my communication device. In the soft glow of the holographic screen a little red line proceeded a short distance from my location on a map of the area.

"_Almost there..."_

I folded the device with a _click _and returned it to my pocket. The feeling of being watched intensified. I didn't care. Danger meant nothing to me. I even shoved my hands into my pockets to show any onlookers that I wasn't intimidated before moving forward again in the direction indicated by my GPS. Even so, I fidgeted with the communication device where no one could see. Afraid or not, I couldn't help but nervously anticipate whatever was about to happen.

After a few more uneventful minutes of walking I rounded a corner into a dark alley and confirmed that the place was the destination given to me. The red line ended here, and all my instructions with it. There was nobody around that I could see, but that meant little in the dark, in a place isolated from even the city lights beyond. All I could do was wait, so I did...with my back firmly planted on the wall.

_Sigh..._

I had no thoughts. Or rather, the thoughts that came to mind were not ones I had any interest in entertaining. I understood well the implications of my actions, even if not their consequences—that's what I intended to discover, reckless though it might be. The whole point was for me to disappear just like everyone else, after all. The kidnapper could be carving his message into the firing range wall right now, for all I knew.

Just as I found a comfortable position to stand in, a sharp glint flashed from a distant rooftop and left a burn on my eyes. I stepped aside to avoid the discomfort, but I had no idea just how much pain I was dodging until a moment later when a quiet blast sounded and right in my former position a hole promptly formed in the wall at my head. A little cloud of brick and mortar debris puffed out in its place.

_"Sniper!"_

I quickly drew my pistol and took cover on the opposite side of the alley, then peeked around the corner with the weapon preceding me. Again the glint flashed—a scope reflecting the city, I realized. This time I ducked back on purpose and sure enough, another blast took a chunk out of the asphalt street a few meters away.

Immediately I took to the rooftops by way of a nearby fire escape and charged towards the scope reflection. It wasn't long before something caught my feet in the dark, but I just let myself tumble into a full somersault and pop back up without losing momentum. I then vaulted over an air conditioning unit and sprung off the rooftop, across a gap, and onto another building. Of course it was foolhardy to be freerunning like this in the middle of the night, but even more deadly now would be to stand still. So long as I kept moving, the sniper couldn't get a bead on me. If I was lucky, he wouldn't even realize I was coming after him until too late.

He definitely figured out I wasn't still in the alley. After leaping over to another building and landing in a safety roll I noticed the glint flashing with steadily greater frequency. The sniper was searching. But that also meant I hadn't been located yet. My legs carried me faster and faster until I thought I might lose control, but then one more leap and a short climb and my would-be assassin was before me, well within shooting distance. I took aim and fired without hesitation—a bit too hasty, as it turned out. The shot missed and alerted the sniper to my presence. Out of the shadows ahead a woman in a slick black catsuit and facemask popped up and took off running, sniper and all.

"Stop!"

Naturally, she had no intention of obeying, and I didn't wait around expecting her to. The chase was on, advantage: mine. Over the rooftops we ran, the woman dodging back and forth and always changing her course in an attempt to throw me off. It didn't work. Dark of night or not, I had a determination on my side the sniper couldn't begin to match with simple evasion tricks. Still, it wasn't exactly a quick and easy fight. I fired off another round with every opportunity I got, but my opponent was surprisingly nimble and almost always managed to dodge at just the right moment to escape harm—_almost_. Two or three rooftops and a couple fire escapes later, one of my bullets finally grazed the woman's side. By no means was she incapacitated, but the damage was clearly great enough to hurt. She missed her next jump over a wind turbine and crumpled to the ground, then quickly scooted herself around the corner of a service entrance. Never made a sound, though—she must've been trained well to have such self-restraint.

Breathing heavily from exhaustion and adrenaline, I whipped around the corner, pistol at the ready...and met with the barrel of the woman's rifle as she swung it at me like a club. It hit hard—hard enough to knock the pistol from my grip and temporarily transport me into a world of stars. In a daze I clumsily swung my hands around as if moving someone else's body. By the time I regained control the rifle was already halfway on another collision course with my nose. Thinking fast, I reached up and snagged the weapon out of the air and shoved it behind me and out of my opponent's hands, pulling her down onto her face in the process. Displaced her mask, too. I took advantage of her blindness and dropped to my knees, pinning her down where I could cuff her hands behind her back. She wasn't about to give in so easily, though. Suddenly a gut-wrenching pain shot up through my body from below my belt, followed by a second kick to throw me off of her completely. I rolled over and tried to stand up, but my legs were like rubber. The cat was quickly on her feet and coming for me, but I refused to give up. I threw a punch into the her wounded side and then forced my legs into action, shoving not only myself off the floor, but also the woman, who was now bent in half over my shoulder.

"Grrrraaaaahhh!"

Mustering all my strength, I threw the assassin onto the ground. Her head made a dull thunk as it hit the hard surface of the roof, and this time the mask popped off completely. I swung at her exposed face, but my fist paused in midair when it finally registered to my brain who the face belonged to.

"Kuhouin...Arisa!?"

Taking advantage of my surprise, she gritted her teeth to bear the pain in her skull and promptly swept my feet out from under me, then rolled over and pulled at something around her waist while jumping on top to pin me down as I'd done to her only minutes before—only I, of course, couldn't pull her same cheap tactic to escape. The cold, hard ring of a handgun pressed into my hair. I couldn't budge beneath Arisa's lock.

"A-A-Arisa?!"

She reached down and pulled at the gun and a sharp click pierced my eardrum. My whole body started trembling. All I could think about was how steeled and unsympathetic her eyes were.

"_Gomenesai_...Ouma Shu-kun."

_Bang!_

A shot ricocheted off the service entrance behind us, missing Arisa by centimeters. She instinctively ducked her head, bringing her face down close to mine. Seizing the opportunity, I turned my head to one side and gave hers the best butt I could. Arisa's grip on me relaxed in the shock and at last I was able to break free. Where the shot that gave me the chance came from I had no idea, but right then I didn't really care. I threw the woman off to one side, scrambled to my feet, retrieved my pistol, and got off the roof at the nearest fire escape before she could recover. If there was a third combatant in this fight I didn't want to get caught in their line of fire.

_Crack! _

Another shot rang out in the distance behind me. It was too far away to belong to Arisa, but it certainly got her attention. Returning fire echoed from the rooftop I left behind while my aching body carried me down the fire escape as fast as I could go. I needed to get my bearings. So long as this third person remained an unknown I was at a disadvantage. I needed to determine their location, and fast.

_Bang! Bang!_

The sound bounced all around the city block in front, beside, even behind me. Back down on the streets it was impossible to tell which direction to follow, but neither could I just climb back up to where Arisa was to get a better listen. Plus I already knew the bullet that nearly took her out came from opposite the service entrance on the roof, which gave me a pretty good guess as to which way to look for the shooter—not the most specific indicator, but it was better than nothing. I charged off again while reloading my pistol, keeping to the shadows and out of sight as much as possible, using the buildings as cover for my back. Arisa was behind me and another shooter was in front. So long as they kept distracting each other it was the perfect opportunity. But if they both broke off in pursuit of me, well...the outcome of that was obvious.

Never once did I pause to think about Arisa's role in the fight or who the third person might be. There wasn't time. In that moment all that mattered was tactics. We were just pieces in a game, and for now I needed to play it right and win. I myself was one of the pieces being played, though, and it became excruciatingly clear that it was still the enemy's turn when all of a sudden a pair of headlights burst into life down the alley ahead of me. Blinding light flooded the dark space, leaving me stunned and disoriented as the roar of an engine zoomed towards me. Frantically I searched back and forth for any sort of refuge, but my eyes hadn't adjusted yet. If other alleys connected to this one it wasn't immediately obvious, and immediate was all I had time for. Closer and closer the headlights came. My body refused to take action, frozen in indecision. Another few meters and I'd be roadkill. But then there was an ear-piercing squeal, the headlights veered off to one side, and the vehicle came to complete stop perpendicular to me. It was some kind of military jeep, easily ten years old, probably a remnant from the GHQ days. The driver popped open the passenger door and waved a hand.

"Shu! Get in!"

There was only a shadow at the wheel that I could see, but the voice seemed familiar so I risked it and jumped inside, merely holding the door shut behind me so I could get back out again on a moment's notice if necessary. It wasn't. The driver was wearing a helmet, but through the open visor I could see none other than the face of the police inspector that had served as my escort to Arugo and Aki's apartment building. My spirits lifted. Whatever was going on, at least part of it had to be an undercover scheme to uncover the truth about our enemies. At least, that's what I thought at first. I clicked the door the rest of the way shut as the inspector hurriedly got the jeep turned around and heading back the direction he came. Bullets pierced the ground behind us as we got away.

"Inspector!?" I expressed my surprise.

"You're as dense as they say, I see," he replied, whipping us around a corner and out onto the main road. I wasn't sure what to make of the comment at first, but then when our path smoothed out a little the man reached up and removed his helmet, revealing his full face...and this time his loose blonde hair fell down just past his shoulders. He had also shaved since we last met and no longer wore glasses, too, and at last I recognized him for who he really was. A feeling like an electric shock coursed through my veins.

"...Gai!? Tsutsugami Gai!?"

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes: Ahh, finally! It's been torture waiting to write that scene. Well, guess I better not say too much here this time. Next chapter's going to be interesting to say the least, so I better get on with writing that instead of these author notes! Thanks for sticking with the story—it may have started off a bit slow, but hopefully it is now building up to everyone's satisfaction!<em>


	7. Phase 24-6

**Phase 24.6**

_Day 04, 2049 A.D._

"...Gai!? Tsutsugami Gai!?"

I was completely and utterly dumbfounded. Memories from my childhood and our adventures together tearing down GHQ flashed before my eyes.

"Sorry I'm late," Gai returned nonchalantly. "I had another pickup."

He indicated the back seat of the jeep with a gesture of his head, never taking his eyes off the rapidly approaching road ahead. What with how reckless he was driving I hesitated to look away myself, but I built up the nerve and leaned around to shoot a glance behind us. A pair of familiar ruby eyes calmly returned the look from the back seat.

"Inori!?" Somehow I felt I should have expected that. "Did you know about this?"

"Hang on!" Gai interrupted before she could answer. The words barely reached my ears in time for me to brace myself as he swerved around another vehicle on the street and then sped around a corner.

"No sooner than you," Inori said. "Is working in the Rooks always like this?"

"No," I directed my gaze back towards the man in the driver's seat. "Can't say I'm used to being rescued by a ghost!"

"Well, sorry I couldn't get a guardian angel instead," Gai retorted, mildly offended. "Don't tell me you've forgotten."

I thought hard, but ultimately an eternal silence betrayed my ignorance. Street lights outside whizzed by, each one marking another moment more awkward than the last. Gai let out a disappointed sigh.

"You may call me Tsutsugami Gai, but I am not he...and yet, I am one of many like him. No," he grimaced, scorning his own words, "not even like him. Like the one who called himself Izanagi, the one to whom all of my kind 'owe' our existences."

"Your...kind." It all started coming back to me.

"A-ah. I'm a clone. One of many you yourself played a significant role in rescuing from Da'ath's breeding facility in underground Shanghai. To this day my brothers take on the name Izanagi, but I am not of his function. Not all clones were created equal. I, like the Gai you once knew, was bred to bring balance to the equation. Even knowing this purpose was chosen for me, I cannot help but fulfill this role of my own will, even as the others cannot help but fulfill theirs."

"Balance..." I repeated. "Well, I hope you understand I have no such aspiration. I don't want 'balance.' I want every last trace of Da'ath to be erased forever!"

"Which is why I went to the trouble of keeping an eye out. I'm sure you've already figured out I never actually worked for the police department. My only subject as an 'inspector' was you. I wanted to test you, to see if Ouma Shu really was who they said he was."

"And who do 'they' say that I am?"

Gai veered off the main city street and into an abandoned private roadway, ignoring every tattered 'do not enter' sign posted around it.

"In a word: the _im_balance. That has always been your role, hasn't it? I may not share my elder brothers' memories, but I am not ignorant of the past. Ever since the beginning, even if you tried to hide from it, you've always been the one to tilt the scales."

I looked back at Inori and she at me. It was hard to believe that one of the children we found in that facility was sitting before us, now fully grown and a perfect likeness of the man who first brought us together all those years ago. But that wasn't why I looked to her. While I grasped the truth of this Gai's words, I doubted whether I could live up to his expectations now, and I needed Inori for reassurance—reassurance that whatever those expectations were, I wouldn't have to face them alone.

"What do you want with me?" I asked him outright. "I know how you work. You've always got some scheme you're playing people into. So what is it this time?"

"I know it must be hard, but please try not to pin the habits of one of my elder selves on me, even if we do share a face."

The jeep started rattling noisily as we hit a patch of road so cracked and broken it must not have been tended to in a decade. In fact, I got the distinct feeling that wherever Gai was taking us, no one had been there in a very long time. Further and further down into the ground our path took us until we entered a tunnel lit only by our vehicle's headlights. Along the edges of the surrounding blackness we passed by the pitiful belongings of the poor and homeless who once took up shelter here and since had vanished, one way or another. But there was also something vaguely familiar about the place—a feeling I knew by now not to ignore as mere coincidence.

"But you're right," Gai confessed. "I didn't show up just to rescue you from the Kuhouin Group. In fact, for several days now I have been gathering you and your acquaintances for a special purpose."

"'Gathering'? Then...the disappearances..."

"Hare?!" Inori leaned forward anxiously.

"I'm afraid not. But I do have some familiar faces to show you. I would ask for your patience: all will be made clear in due time."

With that Gai slammed on the brakes and the jeep came to a screeching halt that echoed up and down the tunnel for kilometers.

"I've a bit farther to go to reach the parking garage, but this is your stop, here," he explained. "We'll meet early tomorrow morning, so get some rest for tonight...if you can."

"No," I glared at the man in the driver's seat. "Where's Hare? You know, don't you? I won't sleep until she's safe!"

"Normally I would agree with you, but circumstances require that I be the sleepless one, this night. You'll get your chance, but for now I must work alone."

I grabbed Gai by the wrist and prepared to verbally assault him until I got my way, but Inori stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't," she shook her head. "We won't get anywhere if we don't trust each other."

"Trust? We don't even know if we're on the same side! I need answers before I can trust another Gai that just pops in out of nowhere!"

I didn't mean to come off so hard on Gai, but I could tell my words stung him a bit. At the same time, he seemed braced for just that sort of treatment as a clone of someone who had a deep history with Inori and me.

"If you don't trust me, fine," he shook it off coolly. "Your companions can fill you in instead."

"Please, Shu. Let's go."

I hesitated to give in, but not wanting to appear childish I retracted my hand and crossed my arms.

"Fine."

Inori and I opened our doors and stepped outside into the darkness.

"Here," Gai tossed us a flashlight. "Behind you is a passage. Take the stairs. I think you know your way from there."

_"I do?"_

He didn't give me the chance to ask. As soon as the jeep doors were shut Gai floored the gas pedal and zoomed off deeper into the tunnel, leaving Inori and me behind in a cloud of burnt rubber. If he hadn't gone to the trouble of saving my life I would've thought the setup looked like a trap. There we were, alone in a dark, abandoned tunnel with only a flashlight and a few vague instructions to show us the way. The passage we found easily enough, but all the way down the stairs I found myself doubting more and more that we'd get anywhere further. If Inori shared my misgivings she didn't express it, just walking silently, solemnly by my side.

_"How are we supposed to find our own way in this place?"_

The answer awaited us at the foot of the stairs—just as promised. A short walk away off to one side there was an automatic door with a bright red light glowing at its head.

"You think it still has power?" I asked.

As we walked closer to investigate the light suddenly turned green, as if someone had unlocked it for us, then a few steps more and it opened with the groan of old machinery. In the room behind were more lights—the regular kind—and a small group of people in black uniforms sitting or standing around, apparently waiting for us. But more remarkable than the occupants or the electricity was that I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that I'd seen this before. There was no mistaking it in the light. I just couldn't believe it. Inori's jaw dropped a little bit as we crossed through the door and paused to let it close behind us. I'm sure I was making a similar face.

"Well, look who's here," said one of the people, leaning against a column. "Took you guys long enough!"

It was Yahiro. _Yahiro._ Alive, unharmed—actually, looking quite healthy and energized. Almost anxious for activity. Then Shibungi stepped up from the other side of the room.

"Welcome to Roppongi Fort," he greeted. "What's left of it, at least."

"Guess they never cleaned up underground after everything on the surface collapsed," Arugo shrugged from a nearby corner.

I never considered the possibility before, but it made sense. Roppongi Fort—old Funeral Parlor headquarters—was actually a giant Void, my sister Mana's, to be precise. After she was defeated and it collapsed, probably nobody wanted to come near the site for fear of catching the Apocalypse Virus from the tower's remains. The general public never did understand the true nature of the virus very well, so even if their fears were unfounded they did serve to keep them away.

"You look surprised to see us," Shibungi observed. "Has Gai told you, yet?"

"He said we'd talk at the meeting tomorrow, or that you'd fill us in, or...something."

I was still too much in shock to remember clearly.

"I see. Then are you aware he is one of the child experiments we rescued from Shanghai?"

Inori and I nodded in unison.

"Well, then you've already swallowed the hardest pill. The three of us—Arugo, Yahiro, and myself—were rescued by him. Preemptively, in most cases. Arugo was the closest call."

"Don't remind me," Arugo bore a pained expression on his face. "It's not right that I got to live and she...she..."

He cursed and kicked a piece of trash on the floor. Aki's death was obviously taking its toll on him.

"There's...still some cleanup left to do," Shibungi continued, referring to the litter on the floor, "but most of our systems and equipment that got left behind are still intact and functional. Yahiro's been most helpful in bringing them back online."

"It's just a hobby," he modestly dismissed the compliment. "I'm sure someone like Tsugumi would be much better at it since she actually _used _this stuff before. This is my first time being in Funeral Parlor."

"Funeral Parlor?" I repeated.

"A-ah," Shibungi nodded. "But that part I will leave to Gai. I'm sure the two of you have been given plenty to think about for one day. Take some time and rest for tonight. You...do remember how to get to your rooms, I assume."

"We remember," Inori said.

"Good. Tsukishima, Samukawa: that goes for you, too. We've a long day ahead of us. Best eliminate the obstacle of fatigue while we still can."

Yahiro replied with a salute while Arugo just moaned at being given a direct order to turn in for the day. I almost felt like protesting, myself. _We just got here_, I wanted to say. To those three—no, four, counting this new Gai—it was no surprise that Inori and I showed up. But to us our arrival was anything but business as usual. I needed time to adjust, time to accept the reality of what just happened. I needed it so badly that I couldn't even form the words to ask everyone not to go so soon, and before I knew it Yahiro, Arugo, and Shibungi had filed out of the room, leaving Inori and me behind. For some time the only sound was that of an old, buzzing light overhead. I looked to the girl at my side. Her head drooped a bit, maybe deep in thought, maybe just worried about Hare.

"You...go on," she said. "I'll be there in a minute."

If I hadn't made the same request only a matter of hours ago I never would've left her alone. But since I did, it wouldn't be fair to say 'no'. So we embraced without a word and then, hard as it was, I left Inori standing there and headed down the stairs to the corridor of rooms I once knew so well. It hadn't changed much in the past ten years. Not that it was much to begin with—just a curved, concrete hallway with a few thin windows in the ceiling, looking up at the stars beyond. Now it was littered like the rest of the fort's remains and the windows were cracked and broken, but that didn't stop the place from giving off a distinct sense of nostalgia. I could almost see Ayase coming to wake me up with her clipboard and wheelchair to start my training as a member of Funeral Parlor. That, or the other incident we had in this place—the one I would've preferred to forget. Inori was mine now, for that I had no reason to worry, but that awful sick feeling I got in the pit of my stomach when I saw her go in to Gai's room that night so long ago was burned into my memory forever. My real hand broke into a cold sweat just thinking about it. It was a little embarrassing to think I let such feelings control me so much that I ran straight into Ayase, though. In the end Inori and Gai weren't even lovers, so I panicked for nothing.

"All in the past, Shu, all in the past," I calmed myself. "Inori's only coming in to one person tonight, and that's you." I had to admit, it was a little satisfying putting it like that, and here of all places. It was a very surreal experience.

My thoughts quieted for the time being and following Shibungi instruction I found my room from all those years ago. It looked like it had been prepared for me. The floor was mostly clear of debris, a broken window overhead had been covered with industrial tape, and the bed even had a fresh set of sheets and pillows on it. Still, it was hardly hotel fare. Like the hallway outside, the room was basically just a bunch of concrete slabs with some electrical cables running along the walls. Didn't bother me, though. When I first came here I was too scared and confused to even care about my personal quarters, never mind complain about them, and now the nostalgia of being back completely overcame the drab simplicity of it all. With nothing else to do, I slid off my boots without even bothering to untie them and slumped into the old, hard mattress in the corner.

Time passed. I couldn't let myself sleep until Inori came back, but neither could I let myself just lay there where my thoughts could wander. They inevitably wandered to all the wrong places—to Hare, to Haruka, to my father's research, to the terrorists, to this new Gai—and that only made me restless.

"Where are you, Inori?"

It was getting late, and I _had_ given Inori some time alone, so I decided it best to go look for her. Deep down I was also worried for her safety, but I suppressed those feelings as paranoid. Nothing bad would happen to Inori in this place. She knew her way around better than me. But then...where was she? Eventually I got back up, slipped my boots back on, and went out into the corridor to take a look. I didn't have to go far. With the base so empty and quiet the least little noise echoed all throughout the fort, and before long in between my own footsteps I could hear a distant voice, soft and mellow, singing. The words were faint and indistinct at first, but the voice I recognized in an instant. I followed the sound down the hall and up a different flight of stairs than I arrived on and gradually picked up on the song, adding memory to recognition.

_"...Karete yuku tomo ni, Omae wa nani wo omou," _sang the voice._ "Kotoba wo motanu sono ha de, Nanto ai wo tsutaeru..."_

Although familiar, the words echoed in my head with new depth this time around. _What do you think when your friends wilt? With those leaves that do not carry words, How do you convey your love?_ It was a bit too relevant for comfort.

I ascended the stairs as the song continued, drawing ever nearer.

_"...Watashi wa utaou, Na mo naki mono no tame."_

_I shall sing the proof that you lived, For the sake of those who have no names._

Inori finished singing right as I first caught sight of her from behind. She was sitting on the floor a short distance away, hugging her knees and looking out into the city by means of a huge, curved screen made up of smaller screens that ran along one end of the cylindrical room. Several of the individual displays flickered or failed outright from damage or disuse, putting blank spots all over the image of Japan at night. Something about the scene reminded me of that abandoned building my friends and I used to use as our club house at Tennouzu High—the same place I first met Inori.

"This is kind of like the first time we met, huh?" I said, making my presence known. "It feels a little nostalgic."

Inori turned around sharply with a little gasp. I don't think she realized I had followed her.

"Oh, Shu...what is it?" she asked.

What indeed. I could've laughed at the question if it wasn't so serious. It would've been easier to tell her what _wasn't _keeping me up.

"A lot of things, I guess."

I walked across the room and took a seat beside her. Suddenly it occurred to me that this too I had seen before—the same night I recalled bumping into Ayase, in fact.

"Hey, Inori," I quoted my past self to ease the mood. "If...just if...I said 'let's leave this place together'...would you..."

Evidently Inori remembered, too. A tiny smile formed on her lips and she rested her head back on her knees.

"The answer was always 'yes', you know," she said. "Even back then. That's why I had to stand up and leave before. It was 'yes'...but I couldn't."

I scooted in closer and extended a hand towards Inori's, just like I did before. And this time instead of pulling away, she accepted it gratefully.

"I've always been yours, Shu. You should know that. You were always the first to have my heart."

There was double meaning in those words. Inori's heart—how long had it been since I last felt it, since I last slipped her Void from her soul? I shouldn't have remembered the sensation with a pang of longing to experience it again. But I did. It shamed me, but I did.

"Come on," I gave Inori's hand a gentle squeeze. "Let's go get some rest."

Deep down, I wanted the Power of Kings again...to save Hare. But I'd been through this before. I was tired and experiencing a mix of emotions too great for making sound judgments. Wishing anything like that upon myself was foolish, and I realized it. I needed the sleep to ease my state of mind. But more than that, I needed the next day to come as quickly as possible. I wanted that meeting with this new Gai. And whenever it was held...I wanted answers.

* * *

><p>GC<p>

* * *

><p><em>Day 05, 2049 A.D.<em>

By the time I awoke early that morning all that transpired the previous night felt very much like a dream. In fact, had I woken up in my own bed in my own apartment I might even have believed that to be the case. Arisa trying to murder me, Gai rescuing me—neither one of those ideas seemed real, but I couldn't exactly deny they happened when all around me was Roppongi Fort. The first light of sunrise seeped in through the window in the ceiling.

"Day five..." my heart skipped a beat. This was it. Whatever the terrorists had planned, it would happen in just 24 more short hours. I still wasn't entirely sure what sort of 'judgment' they were capable of, but I didn't want to find out so long as they had Hare in their clutches. Or at least, I assumed they did. She wasn't here at the fort, I knew that much. But even with Gai's rushed explanation the night before I still wasn't clear exactly which side was fighting for what. I knew I'd soon find out.

The sun wasn't even finished crawling up into the sky when a fist suddenly banged on the bedroom door.

"Y-yes?" I replied.

"Ready yourselves," a muffled voice answered. It was Gai. "Meet at the usual place. We will begin when you arrive."

"Understood!"

'The usual place.' This clone really was making every effort to be the Gai he took the name after. There wasn't time to think about that, though. I gently shook Inori awake and repeated Gai's message to her. Since we had no spare clothing with us there was nothing for us to change into, but Inori insisted upon at least fixing her hair before leaving the room. I anxiously waited until she was done and then together we hurried out to find Funeral Parlor's old meeting place. It was a three-story cylindrical library with a balcony encircling the upper levels where people used to sit and listen to briefings and debriefings while the more prominent members of the group discussed plans around a collection of computers planted squarely in the center of the bottom floor. Of course, now the place was an eerie ghost town. Shibungi, Yahiro, Arugo, and Gai were all there waiting for Inori and me when we arrived, but the presence of such a few was not enough to overcome the obvious holes where so many dozens of others once stood. Even so, the atmosphere there today was anything but bleak and lonely. This was a comeback. I could see it in the others' eyes.

"You must have many questions," Gai said as we walked in. "I apologize, but we will have to make this quick. Still, I will spare you nothing."

"You guys are lucky," Yahiro jabbed. "I was still freaking out when I got this talk. There was nobody else around!"

"A-ah," Gai nodded. "You are where it started. But let me go back a bit further."

"We're listening," I said.

"Right. As you already know, I am one of many human experiments created by Izanagi: the leader of Da'ath you defeated with your own hand. If you recall, his DNA was ruled insufficient to lead humanity to Da'ath's new world, and therefore he created us in hopes that one of his clones would be selected in his stead. But in order for that to happen, each of us had to be slightly different. The point was, after all, to not be selected out as he was. And that being the case, not only was it inevitable that eventually one experiment would come along who took an opposing viewpoint, Izanagi intended for it. Conflict is the mother of change, and by introducing conflict within his own twin offspring he hoped to evolve himself further."

"And to draw out someone with the potential to hold the Void Genome," I added. "I remember. He told me himself."

"Shu..." Inori stood close against my side.

"Indeed," Gai continued. "But the desired end was always himself. He never achieved that goal. But if my brothers are correct, that is only because he was looking at the problem from the wrong angle."

"What...do you mean?"

Ever the strategist, Shibungi pushed up his glasses and explained:

"Izanagi wanted to be chosen by Ouma Mana. In this case, there are two options, but Izanagi only ever saw one: change yourself..."

"...or change the person doing the choosing," Gai finished.

"But that's impossible," I argued. "There's no one else like Mana, and without another meteor containing the Apocalypse Virus no one ever will be."

"I will let you go on thinking that way for the moment."

Gai folded his hands behind his back and started pacing about the room. It looked like something he was recalling pained him to talk about.

"After Da'ath's defeat in Shanghai, all of his 'experiments' were brought to Japan for physical therapy and counseling. Our caretakers had good intentions, but your government underestimated the depth of our conditioning. We improved emotionally, but nothing could rid us of the purposes written into our very DNA. Still, we kept this side of ourselves relatively secret, and when enough time had passed we were deemed eligible for adoption."

"That's where the Kuhouin Group comes in," said Arugo. "Seriously, what a pain they've turned out to be."

"The Kuhouin Group?" my ears perked up.

"Yes." Gai stopped his pacing and turned to face Inori and me. "They took us in. Publicly it was some kind of charity. But I knew better. Right from the start there was something about Kuhouin Arisa that made me uncomfortable. The way she looked at us with longing in her eyes, and endlessly talked about how we were fit to be kings—she's obsessed with the Gai she once knew. And it seems that strange infatuation has finally given way to madness.

"Enter the Ming-Hua Group: a Chinese organization based in Shanghai that once had a close association with Da'ath. Ten years ago, during Keido Shuichiro's administration of GHQ, Ming-Hua made a proposition to Kuhouin Okina, Arisa's grandfather: the Ming-Hua Group would see to Arisa's extraction from the purge zone in Japan in exchange for her marriage to a member of Ming-Hua: Xiu Shen."

The name struck me like a blow to the head. I didn't know many Chinese, but I remembered that one. He was the man I overheard talking with Arisa at the Kuhouin Group's formal party.

"Of course, the plan fell through back then," Gai continued. "GHQ intervened and in the end Arisa was in no need of rescuing, choosing the Gai you once knew over Ming-Hua. And Ming-Hua was only the more perturbed when a few years later you defeated Da'ath, the very organization they intended to win Kuhouin's alliance for in the first place. But in this case, Da'ath's defeat simultaneously provided them with a new opportunity to exploit the Kuhouin Group: namely, Izanagi's human experiments. _Us_. Do you see, Ouma Shu? The enemy you've been chasing this past week, the judgment that is scheduled in just 24 hours, both are one in the same: Ming-Hua intends to create a new Da'ath with Izanagi as its Adam and Arisa as its Eve."

"W-what!?" My heart started racing. I had no reason to doubt Gai's story. It added up perfectly. Too perfectly. But still I didn't want to believe it. "B-but...that can't be! It can't!"

"It is." Gai closed his eyes, brow furrowed, and waited for me to accept reality.

"Then what about all the people who disappeared, huh?" I stepped closer, fuming, and yet, angry at no one in particular. "What about Katsumi? What about Hare, and Haruka? I see a few missing faces here, but what about them!?"

Inori clung tighter to me without saying a word.

"My brothers are far greater in number and resources than I," Gai explained. "When I learned of Ming-Hua's plan and Kuhouin Arisa's intention to go along with it, I fled. My only goal ever since has been to oppose them. They mean to eliminate any who might stand in the way of a new Da'ath, and so I mean to rescue such people before they can. I've maintained some connection to the Kuhouin Group's systems, but predicting each new target has been...difficult. And after losing Yahiro and Shibungi to me, they became much more careful. Oh, they came off confident in their videos, taking credit for the disappearances anyway, but in reality I gave them quite a stir. They made it much harder for me to predict Arugo, and in the end it wasn't actually him they were targeting—not then, at least. Actually, I have a suspicion they deliberately switched targets to Katsumi just to make sure they finally eliminated someone at all."

"How are they always one step ahead of us?" I muttered. It was more or less a rhetorical question, but Gai took it upon himself to answer anyway.

"I already told you: they exceed me in number and resources. But I suppose it is true that in your case they had a bit of inside help."

"Inside help?" Inori repeated. "Who?"

"You should be able to answer that for yourself, by now. Especially you, Ouma Shu."

"Me?"

I had my suspicions that there was a mole in the Rooks' midst, but what about my personal experience would make me particularly able to figure out who?

Gai let out a disappointed sigh.

"Tell me: why do you think Takahashi assigned you to Arugo's case when the president had just gone missing? Why assign one of his most valuable assets to the least significant case? Or how do you think the Izanagis were able to so easily broadcast their message right into Special Intelligence Division headquarters?"

"Well, how did you shut off the power and kidnap the president in the first place?" Arugo countered.

"Easy. I posed as a member of your security team, just like I posed as an inspector with Shu."

"Man, we had an impersonator on the team and nobody caught it? There goes my career."

My ears barely even heard the conversation. In my mind the pieces of the puzzle were all falling into place.

"Then...Takahashi..." I interrupted.

"A-ah," Gai nodded. "He's with the Kuhouin Group—with my brothers, the Izanagis. His vice presidency was designed to position him for a takeover from the beginning. He was using you, Shu. He wanted you to find me, the one thing standing in the way of a new Da'ath. Even if you succeeded and discovered the truth, it would've been too late. So I decided I better find you first."

It was a lot to take in at once. To think Arisa had been keeping such a secret from the world! I knew she had a reputation for hiding behind a public face, but I wanted so desperately to think that everyone involved in the Lost Christmas incidents had put all that behind them that I trusted her unquestioningly. Even now it was hard to accept that the woman I spoke to at the party and the woman that very nearly killed me in cold blood were the same person. But then I recalled that bizarre dedication of hers to Gai that led her to side with GHQ back in the day.

I broke from my thoughts to look over at Yahiro. Our relationship was sometimes a bit rough, but I had nothing but respect for him now. He and he alone expressed concern over Arisa's past days ago. Perhaps he was more perceptive than I gave him credit for. Yahiro gave me a solemn nod, as if to confirm he suspected something was up all along.

"Then I have just one more question," I turned back to Gai. "What about Hare? What is the 'key to Pandora's box'?"

He didn't answer right away. First he strode over to the hub of computers and touched one of them to bring the whole group online.

"That's what I intend to find out," he said. "The Izanagis believe Hare's DNA can be used to replicate the effects of the Power of Kings without a Void Genome. How, I don't know, but now not only do they have their test subject, they have Ouma Kurosu's research and Ouma Haruka to help them with it."

"No!" Inori screamed. A desperate panic took over her face. I felt the same thing inside, and only by sheer inability to process it did I refrain from shouting out, too. Gai just looked over at Shibungi, who took position at the computers in response.

"We're out of time," he said. "So what will it be, Ouma Shu?"

Gai stepped forward and extended a hand.

"Are you with me? Or not?"

It was never a question in my mind. Not since I heard half his story, and certainly not now that Hare was in danger and he had a mind to stop her captors. I nodded firmly and accepted the gesture without hesitation. He returned the nod as we shook hands, then stepped back and raised his voice as if speaking for all the ghosts of the past to hear.

"Then together let us take the fight back to Kuhouin, to Ming-Hua, to Izanagi!" he swung at the air. "Let us end the madness of Da'ath before it can begin again! This is the purpose for which I was bred. So have I rejected my brothers, so have I gathered those who would fight alongside me, and so will we send this message: that defeat is not inevitable, and that we _will_ resist! That Funeral Parlor...is reborn!"

He paused, eyes closed emphatically, a fist held before his face.

"And our songs will not be silenced."

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes: Yep, I'm still here! Apologies for dropping off for a while. Between the holidays and coming down with the flu my progress on pretty much everything stopped for a week or so. But! I am now back, and very, very happy to have gotten this chapter out! It was a fun challenge crafting that convoluted plot, and now it's not just my secret anymore! Obviously the story is really building up to the climax now, so stay tuned, and thanks for sticking with me this far!<em>


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